Poke Wars: Start of Chaos
by JanTanner
Summary: The Pokemon world has changed. Ho-oh has declared war on humans and gave his Pokemon brethren the power to kill. In these dark times what place is there for a trainer?
1. Chapter 1

Pokemon belongs to who ever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. A day dedicated to chaos.

August 16th

Johto Mountains

The sun shown down on the region of Johto, a bright clear day, and more specifically a Pokemon trainer located in its forested mountain range. Dawson sighed as he looked up at the sun shining it's light on his body. His Sinnoh league cap helping block some of the sun but not doing enough to make this hike more comfortable. He had been walking for the last several days and was starting to regret not packing a more diverse set of clothes for his trainer journey. For Sinnoh his jacket, jeans, gloves and shirts would have been fine for the colder weather. Closer to the equator however he was clearly sweating even in the cooler mountain ranges of Johto.

"Teach me not to plan for wanderlust..." Dawson muttered

He kept hiking through the mountain range regardless of his complaints. His jacket being a faded dark brown and his shirt being pure black, save for the stylized words Sinnoh in white at the center, didn't help as the dark colors absorbed heat better. Dawson had been journeying for most of his adult life, although mostly through the regions of Sinnoh only recently had he deiced to travel south to see the other regions Pokemon and the locations in them. He however was decidedly regretting not planning out his trip more.

"Balls its hot... How do the people down here deal with this kind of weather. I know it's August but to go from super hot day, to cool evenings, and then cold nights is irritating as all heck."

Sitting down on a nearby rock he took off his backpack. The large bulky container, filled to the brim with various supplies and tools for his journey, hit the ground with a thud. It was clearly designed more for travel and hiking then something more mundane like school. Pulling out a canteen of water he unscrewed its cap and lifted the container to his mouth. A few gulps later he lifted up his arm and checked his poketch for the time. He grunted in annoyance at the fact that it was almost five already. Shifting up a few dials on the watch he selected the marking map function and reached into a side pouch on the pack. Looking over the map and the location of the mark on his poketch he let out a small sigh at what his thoughts had been dreading.

"Crap... it's still at least a days walk to get down the mountain to that town. Guess this means one more day of camping out. Here I was looking forwards to a hot shower and maybe a shave."

He reached up an scratched the growing stubble around his face. It wasn't a beard but a few more days and it would be.

"Stupid beard, guess my hiker dad's genes are out to get me again."

At twenty one Dawson was older then most trainers he ran into. Few lasted this long as trainers or coordinators as he did, most choosing a career or finding their calling in life. His journey also began later then most with his first starter being given to him at the age of sixteen. His parents, mostly his dad however, choosing to spend the extra time training him in the areas they excelled at.

His fathers voice echoed in his mind as he remembered when he asked about the constant hikes. 'Children are the Pokemon trainers greatest challenge I'm not going to release you into the wild until I'm sure I trained you properly, GAHAHAHAHA' His father's voice drowning out all other thoughts in his mind when he thought back to his questions regarding his upbringing. Smiling to himself slightly at the memory of his hiker father. Realizing he was wasting time Dawson packed up the rest of his stuff and pulled back on his backpack. He knew he needed to find a place to rest up for the night and he had to begin looking soon.

One hour later

Dawson sat in front of the small fire he had made in the woods its light flickering around him in the small clearing he chose to make camp in. A small fry pan containing the sizzling contents of his supper was cooking in front of him. The pan held up by metal legs on its side allowed him to cook his meal while listening to the songs he had put on his poketch. Jailbreaking the little device was surprisingly easy as many people had done it already. Plus many of the programs and apps you could put on it that were genuinely useful were made by the same hackers who broke into it in the first place.

While his meal cooked he looked up at the star filled night sky. Nights like these are what made Dawson miss his friends the most. He remembered the two of them receiving their starters at the same time. It was a fun journey for him at least, not at first, with lots of laughter and adventures. Much to his sadness though it didn't last. With his second friend choosing to stay in the Sinnoh region and compete in contests and the other deciding to stay in Sinnoh down and work with professor Rowan on his Pokedex. Thoughts about the good times were hard to avoid during nights like these and his meal didn't taste nearly as good when he started eating.

Half an hour later, dishes cleaned and sleeping bag laid out, Dawson began preparing for sleep. Slowly he reached his wrist and turned off the music program on his poketch and shifted it to the time. The lit screen of the watch glowed the numbers and he silently cursed himself for letting the evening drag on to the late night.

"One of these days I should learn to keep an eye on the time." He said to no one around him.

Dawson felt his tired body pop a few times as he stood up and stretched lightly before moving towards his laid out sleeping bag. Leaning down, ready to get into bed, Dawson stopped at a sudden noise he heard. A soft 'P-tching' noise rang out through the otherwise silent night.

'Was that a Pokeball capture noise?' He thought.

In the next few seconds the silence was shattered completely by the sound of all six of his pokeballs opening simultaneously and all hell breaking loose. Every one of his pokemon being released all around him, the darkness driven away as the multiple flashes lit up the night. The sudden release of Dawson's Pokemon would have caused havoc and likely hurt a few people anywhere civilized. Thankfully he wasn't anywhere civilized and their thrashing and rampaging only served to cause havoc all around him.

His Rapidash was the first one he saw as she kicked and flailed about its normally mane of soft fire flaring outwards like a flame caught in a windstorm. Her hoof stamping anything around her and occasionally spewing jets of fire at nearby spots seemingly at random. Her normally soft whinnies now a screeching cacophony adding to the din around Dawson.

Dawson's Garados luckily ended up the farthest away as he smashed its head on the ground repeatedly. His massive body thrashing about among the rocks and trees. Anything hit by the giant blue serpent was outright destroyed by the force of his strikes. Every time his body smashed into the earth he shook the ground around him causing Dawson to almost stumble and fall each time.

His Luxray simply bolted, shocking anything that passed near her and shooting off bolts of lightning anytime she tried to stop running. Eventually she rushed a tree smashing her head into it with enough force to cause her to stagger about from the recoil. Bolts of electricity now shot out from her confused form shocking and splintering anything nearby including the tree her head had failed to damage.

Both his Torterra and his Togekiss were the most controlled out of his pokemon only thrashing about on the ground howling in pain and agony. Their rampage being the most gentle, relatively speaking, with Torterra simply smashing the ground around him sending dust everywhere. Togekiss flew into the sky and started screeching as it's erratic flight patterns painted a clear picture of the pain she was in.

It was during this chaos that he heard the cry of his Gardevoir behind him. Turning he saw her crouched with her arms clutching her head. Her entire body glowed with the purple hue of her psychic powers and the very air around her teaming with the energy she was releasing. Gardevoir soon began floating upwards, a symptom of an out of control psychic attack, like she was possessed by some sort of demonic force. Objects seemingly at random being picked up and drawn to her only to be crushed into small balls then launched away with the force of a bullet.

Taking a step forwards Dawson called out to his Gardevoir hoping he could do something to help alleviate the pain she was in. After his first step he realized the mistake he made as the movement into contact the area of psychic energy she was releasing flared and launched him backwards into the air like a rag doll. Without even enough time to think Dawson's body smashed into something behind him that wouldn't yield to him and sent waves of agony across his torso. Landing on the ground in a heap he could only watch his pokemon thrash about as his vision slowly darkened and Dawson passed out from the pain.

One Hour Later

The night was finally quiet as the last of Dawson's Pokemon had finally succumbed to exhaustion and collapsed where they had just finished thrashing about. No one in the newly formed clearing moved at all not even when a beam of light flashed across the area an hour later.

"Over here Dad, I've found them! Hoooollllyyyy... look at this place its been totaled completely." A young boy's voice shouted out.

The stranger flashed his light over the area lighting up the Pokemon's bodies one by one. Another person soon joined him and started scanning the area as well. Both lights moved from one Pokemon to another in quick succession.

"Quickly! We have to find the trainer before these others wake up. If their reaction was anything like our herds then they might very well start leveling the area again once they wake up." Said an older sounding man holding the second flashlight.

Eventually the younger boy's flashlight landed on Dawson's unconscious form, "Over here dad, he's in the group of trees here. Looks like he crashed into the tree and got knocked out. Should we get him back to the Pasture?" The young boy asked.

"No son, run back and get nurse Joy. We don't know how badly he's injured moving him might be a bad idea. Get going I'll get his pokeballs and get his Pokemon back inside."

With that the young boy ran off towards a small patch of lights off in the distance, once hidden by the trees they're lights shown through after the damage was done. The older man moved towards Dawson and scanned the unconscious trainer's waist, finding his Pokeballs easily. Kneeling and reaching for them he gently removed them from their holsters. Taking one at a time he pressed the return function while aiming at each of the nearby pokemon until it triggered.

After the last one he stood back and looked back towards the lights in the distance. Several of the buildings glowed orange from their own Pokemon issues. He saw two moving towards him a few minutes later and nodded in satisfaction at his son's quick work. Looking down at the still form of Dawson he could only shake his head in fear.

"This boy's lucky to be alive at all... luckier still that we were still up here."


	2. Chapter 2

August 17th

Johto Mountains

A shadowy silent room located in the northern part of Johto's mountain range. It was still early morning and the sun had only just started to rise over the mountain surrounding the small log cabin Dawson was currently sleeping in. Murmuring slightly and pulling his covers closer to his body, he rolled over to try to get more rest. It was only a few moments later pain shot through his back effectively waking the trainer. The shot of pain woke his body effectively. His drowsy mind was still struggling with coherent though. Trying to make the connection between having covers and sleeping in a bed being different then the sleeping bag he usually spent his nights in.

Opening his eyes more he moved his hands to his face and tried rubbing his eyes to help clear away the fuzzy view he was looking through. Most of his mind had spent this time complaining that he should ignore the bed/sleeping bag issue and wrap himself back into the covers and sleep more. However his body was already waking up and the reluctant part of his mind was quickly becoming a minority.

Sitting up slowly, Dawson couldn't manage any faster due to a dull pain in his back, he took another look around the room with a clearer head this time. It looked like the inside of a log cabin. His clothes and backpack located on a chair near the bed. A table, wood stove, and various other odds and ends filled the room including a wooden couch next to one of the walls complete with cushions, blankets and somebody sleeping on it.

Pausing in his surveying of the room Dawson took a moment to watch the person resting silently. The covers were currently hiding most of her form but her head was still revealed. Glancing at her somewhat disheveled pink hair Dawson had a good guess as to who was sleeping in the same room as him. Only after realizing that he spent the night sleeping in the same room as a nurse Joy did he bother to check his attire and found himself mostly decent if lacking in a shirt and pants.

He had lost most of his outer garments sometime during the night and currently was only wearing his briefs. Moving slowly he slid out of bed his slow speed necessary to keep the noise down and to avoid the pain in his back. Apparently making sudden movements also caused his spine to stiffen painfully. Pulling his clothes to him he dressed quietly. Shirt, pants, socks, and boots Dawson chose to leave his backpack and jacket on the chair. Walking as silently as he could, the creaking wooden floor not assisting in the matter, he made his way to the door and left the room to the outside.

A warm mountain breeze greeted him upon leaving the small cabin. As Dawson looked about he saw other houses forming a small village of about half a dozen homes and several large barns. People were walking around completing morning tasks and repairing damaged buildings. The small village looked as if a tornado, that had been lit on fire, had run through the small town. Several roofs and walls were smashed and one of the barns looked like it had caught on fire at one point. Most of the people working the look of farmers accustomed to doing their own repairs from years of experience.

As he continued to try to figure what this place was a pair of village natives walked over to him. One had the clear look of a father standing a head taller than Dawson. The other, looking to be within the age bracket of preteens, Dawson could assumed was the older man's son. Walking up the father sized up Dawson quietly before smiling.

"So you're awake lad. Good thing that, we spent a few hours worrying while nurse Joy examined the injury on your back. By the way did you get her permission to be up and about?"

For a brief moment Dawson was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure where he was, what had happened, or even how he got here. From the view of the nearby mountains he could assume he was within the area he got knocked out. It also came to him that he might have gotten to this town by way of carrying him if they found him last night. They seemed friendly enough so it wasn't hard to be forthcoming for Dawson

"Umm... if by permission you mean she didn't wake up when I left, then yes I got her permission. If you don't mind me changing the subject though. Where am I, what happened last night, and where are my Pokemon?"

The father scratched his head and sighed, "Well for where you are you're in the alpine pasture near the Town of Agricola. As for what happened... well we don't rightly know. Last night we all got woken up by all of our Pokemon herds kicking, mewling and generally just going crazy. Tore up our barns and wrecked a few of the fields and generally just made our night as sleepless as possible. It was thanks to their ruckus that we even saw you. Well that and the various lightning bolts and screeching your Pokemon caused."

"Yeah about them..." Dawson prompted trying to get over his nervousness at not knowing where his companions were.

"Well after our Pokemon herds woke up from their little tantrum and went back to acting like they always did we figured it was at least safe to let your Rapidash out of her Poke ball. I believe she is in the barn with our Ponyta we assumed it might appreciate the company. The others we left inside their balls, frankly the thought of letting out a Gyarados kinda scared us, if you want them back I have them here."

With that the farmer reached into his pocket and pulled out the poke balls he was keeping handing them over to Dawson. Letting out a sigh Dawson smiled and clipped his Pokeballs to his waist. Carrying his friends made him feel much more secure even if the town was completely peaceful as far as he could tell. Almost serene, even though many of their Pokemon went ballistic last night the town seemed just plain cheerful.

"I'd offer you a guided tour of our little home away from home but you can see most of it from right where you are. It's not the whole town either. We only use this place during the summer for grazing. We also have a lot of repairs to do after last night. However if you want I can show you to your Rapidash." The main said smiling and indicating the hammers and nails he and his son were carrying.

"No need, just point me in the direction of the the barn and I'll collect my companion myself." Dawson replied.

"Well the barn is over yonder. Also I have a request if its not too much trouble. Our kids, the ones too young to really work, play in the western pasture with the Mareep and a few of them caught a Pokemon or two. Mostly just Ratata and Pidgeys and none of them are trainers really. If you could give them a bit of a show with some of yours I'm sure they'd love it." He said pointing off towards one of the distant fields surrounded by trees.

Dawson smiled at the request, "Sure, I can manage that. I'm sure they don't get to see many different Pokemon much less ones from the Sinnoh region..." He truly did love showing off his Pokemon and moments like these made the days alone in the wilderness worth it.

With that Dawson, after giving a small somewhat painful bow to the farmer and his son, headed off down the road towards the largest barn to find his Rapidash. While it didn't hurt to walk Dawson could feel his stiff back protesting the movement. He was sure however with a little bit of time and some light movement to loosen it up it be find in the end.

Arriving at the barn Dawson walked into through one of the large side doors into the center. The inside was large and spacious with stalls filled with mostly resting Ponyta. Looking around he noticed a large portion of the beams in the barn had scorch marks. The roof also looked like it had been burned pretty seriously last night.

Walking in and looking around it didn't take him long to find his Rapidash in one of the stalls. Happily chewing hay and being brushed by a stable hand. Walking over Dawson moved to his Pokemon's side and patted the side of his friend. The stable hand noticing Dawson smiled and nodded.

"She's a beautiful Pokemon sir. Happy, healthy, and strong you must have put a lot of care in her upbringing." He said putting the brush down and moving to Dawson's side.

"Yeah she's been with me since my first days as a trainer. Granted most of my Pokemon have been with me since the beginning." The trainer replied.

"Well your care for her shows... Thankfully from last night she only had a few bruises from her thrashing about. Not all of our Ponyta were so lucky. Some ended up unable to walk for a good long while when they injured themselves during that fiasco." He said looking at one of the stables further in the barn.

"Yes... not sure what happened there, although when I get to a city I plan to find out." Dawson said.

"So I guess you're not planning on staying long then... pity I'm sure our Ponyta would have benefited from your Rapidash being here." The stable hand replied giving Dawson a 'if you know what I mean' wink.

"Yeah sorry but I don't stay long in an area often... if you don't mind can I take her out? I was asked by one of you guys to give the kids in the western pasture a show with my Pokemon and there's no time like the present." He said.

"Oh yeah I'm sure... she's ready to get out and stretch her legs a bit if you want to ride her to the field." The man replied.

With that Dawson patted the side of Rapidash's neck and she slowly backed out of the stall into the open area of the barn. Using one of the stable walls as a step Dawson climbed onto Rapidash's back, grimacing lightly at the dull pain in his back. The stable hand noticed the wince and looked up at Dawson.

"Huh looked like that stung you a bit... by the way did get permission from Nurse Joy to be moving about?" He asked

Shrugging off the pain Dawson smiled and avoided eye contact, "Well... I figured I got permission when she didn't wake up after I snuck out." He said.

With that the stable hand laughed and shook his head, "You crazy fool... Our Nurse Joy might be new but that just means she wants to do everything right all the time. When she finds out you got out there will be hell to pay when she catches you." He replied.

"If she catches me! Heyah!" Dawson said.

With that Dawson gave his Rapidash a kick in the side. She whinnied and galloped out of the barn into the now bright morning. With the sun in the sky and riding on Rapidash Dawson got a much better view of the small alpine town. Located in the center of four large fields in each of the cardinal directions it was easy to figure out where the western Pasture from the rising sun.

Galloping down what could be called the main street of the town, in reality it was just the dirt road the farmers build their log cabins around, he waved as he passed the farmer and his son. As he got to the end of the lane of houses he saw Nurse Joy, her hair a mess and her uniform askew, outside looking around for someone. When Dawson made eye contact he swore he saw a vein appear on her head as she tried to catch up to him, a difficult task seeing as he had already passed her house and was making his way down the path to the western pasture, she was screaming something about further injuries to himself. The yelling was mixed with laughter as the father and son were almost doubling up in hysterics at the sight of her chasing Dawson.

Making it to the trees Dawson let Rapidash slow down to a trot after he made it in far enough that he couldn't see Nurse Joy anymore. As he rode towards the pasture he relaxed on his steed easing the pain in his back. Even on Rapidash the path up to the field would take a little while. Thankfully the day was turning out to be quite beautiful which helped pass the travel time.

As Dawson approached the pasture however he began to hear raised voices and the cries of the Mareep in the field ahead. Listening as the sounds became clearer as he got closer a sinking feeling began to form in his stomach and he urged Rapidash to pick up her speed. As he made it to the clearing the sinking feeling became a cold fear as his eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.

The Mareep had formed a circle in the center of the Pasture with the children Dawson was supposed to meet located in the center. Almost all of them were crying and from what he could see from the edge of the field some even looked hurt. Surrounding the group of Pokemon and children was a cloud of Yanma and Yanmega. They're buzzing wings filling the pasture with a loud constant hum. Anytime the cloud of bug Pokemon attempt to get close a bolt of electricity would shoot out from the Mareep pushing back the swarm.

From what he could see a few of the Mareep hadn't made it into the protection of the circle and lay on the ground clearly dead. Unfortunately they weren't the only ones unable to make it to the circle as Dawson saw one or two child sized bodies out in the swarm. A few Yanmega and Yanma crawling over the corpses their attacks had brought down they're jaws ripping skin and flesh off the bodies.

Dawson stood transfixed at the scene before him. He had never known Pokemon to come close to acting this violent much less being even able to hurt even a child seriously. Yet not only were the bug Pokemon attacking and hurting the children and Mareep the lighting from the woolly Pokemon was actually frying the bug Pokemon like some sort of fluffy bug zapper. As Dawson watched he realized the very children the Mareep were protecting were also responsible for keeping the Mareep safe as well. If the kids weren't there the electric Pokemon would have had no one to protect and likely would have scattered and gotten wiped out as they got picked off. Protecting the children meant they were all together and making themselves a much harder target to attack.

Unfortunately his observation of the situation didn't go unnoticed as his head was nearly taken off by a passing Yanmega. Only the timely bolting of his Rapidash, which nearly threw him off, saved his life. "GAH! Sorry Rapidash.. come on, we have to save those kids!" He said

With that he shook any doubts about what was coming next and held onto Rapidash with one hand the other reaching to his waist for his poke balls, "Rapidash get us to the largest mass of those bugs. We're going to have to try to break the swarm in one fell swoop!"

Nodding its consent and bolting forwards towards the cloud of bug Pokemon Rapidash's body flared up surrounding Dawson with heat, 'Gods of Pokemon world that's HOT! Rapidash's fire has never been this strong, I feel like I'm getting roasted here!' he thought.

His body wanted to let go of his Rapidash and somehow escape the rapidly rising heat that surrounded him but his mind knew that the only reason he wasn't bursting into flame was likely due to his Pokemon controlling the fire. Despite the size of the field it only took Rapidash a few moments to reach the swarm. Not even pausing it's flaming form smashing into the Yanma and Yanmega incinerating a few instantly and causing the cloud of bug Pokemon to fly out of the way and swarm around this new threat. As soon Dawson judged they had made it to the center he grabbed all his poke balls and launched them skywards. Quickly withdrawing his hand to minimize the damage the fire could cause yet still feeling the telltale sting of burns.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had seen it happen last night Dawson would have been shocked by the sudden chaos that sounded him. As it was he knew the safest place he could be was on his Rapidash's back. His Pokemon burst forth from their poke balls and began the attack in earnest. Dawson wondered, as Rapidash smashed through the other end of the bug Pokemon, how his Pokemon knew what was happening from inside the poke balls but let the thought drop as they reached the other end of the field away from the swarm.

Looking back he was once again stood transfixed at the sight before him. His Pokemon, scattering around the ring of Mareep in a skirmish line, ripped into the unprepared bug Pokemon. Their attacks cutting down swarms of them as the Yanma and Yanmega struggled to avoid the attacks, scatter, and not hit each other in the ensuing chaos. Dawson's Pokemon however took it all in stride. All of them reveling in the power they now held.

None of them knew what the message in their minds meant but when they awoke from their unconscious state after losing control they knew, even inside the poke balls, that their power felt almost limitless now. Finally after a morning of impotency being trapped in their poke balls they could finally let loose and show Dawson just how powerful they were now.

Gardevoir was the first to attack. Letting her mind calm and storing power within her right hand. Her left began directing the Yanma and Yanmega. The psychic energies subtlety leading the bug Pokemon around the battlefield. Letting the Yanma and Yanmega all collect around her as she lead the slowly growing swarm. A second later she pulled her arm towards her and directed the Yanma and Yanmega towards her. With her charged psychic powers she simply added more force to the energies directing and leading the bugs around and crushed the swarm with a surge of mental energy.

The rest of the Yanmega and Yanma were quick to organize however and tried to attack Gardevoir while she captivated the males. However every time one of them even approached within five feet of her they would end up bisected. Togekiss using it's extreme speed and air slash moved faster than any of the bugs could follow. Spending its time protecting its companions, the Mareep, and the children from retaliation while they launched their attacks or huddled in fear.

Luxray moved to the edge of the circle of Mareep. It's barking and circling of the Mareep keeping them together in a tight mass preventing anymore from being picked off by the swarm. From its blue fur bolts of lightning arced outwards shocking the nearby Yanmega and Yanma preventing them from getting close and attempting to break the formation. Luxray's lightning also allowed the Mareep to organize their bolts of electricity. While not near the accuracy or power of Dawson's Luxray they still fried anything too unfortunate to be hit by them.

Torterra simply withdrew into its shell. Its hardened carapace protecting it from any serious injury. The few attacks by the Yanmega that did scratch it's shell quickly closed up on their own and healed a second later. As the Yanmega and Yanma attacked the swarm around Torterra started to diminish as the bug pokemon began falling one by one. Torterra simply draining the life out of anything within its range while it stayed safe and sound within its shell.

Gyarados being the largest and most obvious target attracted the largest amount of bug pokemon. However it was to the Yanma and Yanmega detriment as simply thrashing about crushed dozens at a time under the solid mass of the water pokemon. Despite its mass and the area it's thrashing covered Gyarados never came close to hitting one of his allies. It's careful nature keeping its chaotic movements in check.

Dawson watched in awe and a little bit of terror as the battle unfolded around him. The Yenma and Yanmega despite having almost overwhelming numbers were getting wiped out. Even now as he watched some were breaking off and fleeing. Others not so fortunate were cut down as they attempted to escape. Within minutes of the Pokemon's overwhelming surprise attack the swarm of bug Pokemon was entirely routed. The swarm scattering and fleeing in all directions.

'When... when did my Pokemon get this powerful? I can see the moves they're using yet they end results are completely different.' He thought.

The questions and thoughts raced through his mind as Dawson's Pokemon finished up their slaughter of the Yanma and Yanmega swarm. Dawson's eyes suddenly grew wide, his heart skipped a beat and his jaw hung open at the most recent thought.

'This power... does it affects humans too... wait... what if this isn't an isolated incident? If my Pokemon had the same reaction to what happened last night as the farmers Pokemon. Oh crap... if hostile Pokemon have this power, and they decided to go on a rampage..."

As Dawson sat dumbfounded atop Rapidash the sound of sheep and crying children slowly began to make its way into his thought process. Blinking and focusing on the now ended battle, the Yanma and Yanmega having been killed or driven off, the Mareep were still surrounding the children but now were nuzzling the crying children attempting to get them to calm down. Dawson's Pokemon standing amid the corpses of the dead bugs standing guard.

Signaling to Rapidash to head down to the group of children. As they approached Dawson leapt off his steed and immediately regretted it as his boots impacted on guts and body of a Dead Yanmega. Shuddering slightly he walked over to the Mareep and children. The electric Pokemon watched him carefully but eventually allowed him inside the protective ring of children. As he approached she crying and sobbing of the kids grated on his ears as he tried to think of the best way to calm them down.

"Umm... OK kids listen up! I need to you to stop crying so you can hear me." He shouted over the din of crying children. "Who here in this group is hurt."

The children, although not listening to his request to stop their sobbing, looked to the center of their group at least indicating to Dawson who was wounded. In the middle one small girl, her face and clothes were a mess torn in some spots, her leg was what immediately got Dawson's attention as he could see the mud and dirt being washed away by the blood of an open wound. A serious gash that might very well kill her if it didn't get treated immediately. Walking up he kneeled down and looked at the poor girls sobbing face and spoke in a soft voice.

"Hey kiddo... you got a name?" He asked.

Sniffing and still crying she responded quietly amidst the tears, "May"

"May that's a nice name, I'm going to have to have you be-" Dawson started.

Dawson's sentence was interrupted however by his Gardevoir floating next to him. He was surprised having never even noticed her approach and was further shocked when she reached down and touched the young girls leg. A small pink pulse appeared where she touched the young girls leg and the wound stopped bleeding almost instantly. The gash closing up and sealing on its own. The tears from the young girl stopped almost instantly and she looked up at Gardevoir floating above her with a measure of awe and relief.

"Th-thank you..." she said weakly and Gardevoir nodded her appreciation for the words.

"Gardevoir... that was heal pulse. You can use those on humans now?" Another nod answered his question.

Dawson was about to ask something else but was once again interrupted by a scream coming from the edge of the field. Looking up Dawson saw who it was and let out of sigh of relief. Nurse Joy stood at the edge of the clearing her face, now cleaned like her uniform, in a state of shock at the carnage around her. Dawson's relief at seeing her however was dampened when he realized that not only was he going to have to explain what happened here but possibly what was going on despite not knowing himself.

"This... is going to be hard to explain..." He said.


	3. Chapter 3

Pokemon belongs to whoever owns Pokemon.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. All credit for the end of the Pokemon world goes to him.

August 17th

Johto Mountains

"So what you're saying to me is that not only have Pokemon gone berserk but their attacks can now kill?" Nurse Joy asked, "And why are you even out here, your back hasn't fully healed yet you're likely to injure yourself even further now!"

She was currently tending to the burn Dawson had gotten on his hand during the attack. Earlier Dawson had insisted, before explaining anything, that the group move to some place else. He didn't know how long the kids would cry for but being surrounded by the carcasses of the Yanma and Yanmega wasn't going to help them calm down. Thankfully Nurse Joy knew of a side field near the western pasture that was both higher up on the mountain and within a short walk.

As Dawson sat on a nearby rock in the pasture he let Joy apply some burn heal and wrap the injury in a spare linen. The children had spent most of Dawson's explanation sitting amongst the herd of Mareep. Most hadn't said a word while he was talking their eyes glazed over and sore from crying so much. Dawson knew that this moment would likely haunt them for the rest of their lives and he cursed himself for not acting faster when the bugs were attacking.

With his hand bandaged up and feeling slightly better Dawson sighed, looking at Nurse Joy as she stared at him, "Listen I honestly don't know myself what is going on however if you're planning on giving me grief for not staying indoors with this back injury you can forget it. I didn't get hurt and if I hadn't left on my Rapidash these kids would likely have died there." He said

Nurse Joy stood up, crossed her arms, and turned away from Dawson, "Assuming I believe your story about swarms of Yanma and Yanmega that doesn't excuse what you did to those poor Pokemon." She replied.

Dawson was taken aback. He couldn't actually believe that she thought the bugs he killed deserved to live, "Poor Poke- What? You can't honestly expect me to feel guilt over those dead bugs, do you? They were attacking the children AND the Mareep. Would you have done any differently?" He said, standing up, his face clearly showing his indignation.

"I would have at least tried something else instead of just killing them like a monster!" Nurse Joy retorted turning back to Dawson with a cold look in her eye, "From what you tell me there was barely even an afterthought about killing them. You just saw and did and now dozens of those poor Pokemon are dead because of your bad judgment!"

"Bad judgment? You make it sound like there was a decision involved in that situation. I saw the bug Pokemon killing people and Pokemon and I stopped it. Not only that but I had no idea that my Pokemon would be just as dangerous as their targets." Dawson said getting slightly irritated at the ingratitude he was on the receiving end of.

He'd have accepted blame for not acting faster and helping more. However he was not going to accept the deaths of the bug Pokemon on his conscience when there was too many things to consider about the situation already. Nurse Joy was about to respond when Dawson threw up his hands in defeat at the situation.

"You know what, fine, hate me for not trying something stupid. I don't know nearly enough about what's going on to really be bothered with the grief of a single Pokemon nurse!" He snapped.

With that he walked off to one of the hills in the pasture they were in. He didn't care that a single Nurse Joy out of hundreds, maybe thousands, hated him. He cared that she hated him for a stupid reason. Sighing and sitting down on the hill he looked out over the surprisingly good view from where he was. He could even see the Alpine village and the surrounding areas around it. When he looked further down the valley however his blood ran cold for the second time that day.

He couldn't see exactly what was making it or how many of them there were but the approaching cloud of yellow was exactly the same color as a stun spore attack. As the cloud approached the Alpine village Dawson could make out hundreds of little specks over the stun spore cloud. What ever Pokemon those were the spores belonged to them. Turning round and running down the hill he slid to a stop at the bottom and approached Nurse Joy.

"Joy-" He said rushing over to her.

"Thats NURSE Joy to you." She replied.

Dawson stared flabbergasted at her counter to his use of her name, "...Of all the- No that doesn't matter now, Nurse Joy do you have any kind of binoculars that I can use?" He asked

"What? Yes I have a small portable one here..." She said caught off guard by the odd request. Reaching into one of her pockets she pulled out a small collapsible telescope, "We use these in case one of the children gets-"

Nurse Joy never got a chance to finish as the telescope was snatched out of her hands by Dawson. Before she could even scold him for his rudeness he was already sprinting back up to the top of the hill. Now using the telescope Dawson scanned the dots at the top of the advancing wall of powder. From the view of the telescope he could see several different types of Pokemon floating over the cloud.

They looked like floating balls of various colors with plants, flowers, and puffs of fluff on their head. They looked completely harmless if it wasn't for the Stun spores they were releasing behind them as they floated closer to the town. Dawson didn't know what they would do to a person if inhaled but after the battle with the insects Dawson didn't want to find out anytime soon. Moving up behind him Nurse Joy stared at the sight before her.

"What is that?" She asked.

While she didn't like the trainer, and wasn't sure what to believe about him the look he had wasn't reassuring in any way. Handing her the telescope Dawson scratched his head and continued to watch as the cloud now began covering the Alpine village. Joy had to wait several more minutes before she even got a chance to look at them through the telescope.

"It's Stun spore being dropped by those weird soccer ball like things in front of the cloud." He said.

"Oh those are Skiploom, Hoppip, and Jumpluff. They're grass types... didn't you know that? They come up here every year to pollinate. They're quite harmless." She said

"No, I'm from Sinnoh. I've never seen those types of Pokemon before. Honestly that's the reason I came to Johto but I haven't had time to review my Pokedex. It hardly matters now though I don't want to even begin to imagine what stun spore will do to a human." He said.

Joy looked over at Dawson with a concerned look on her face, "W- What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it... Stun spore is an attack that releases spores that paralyze the opponent. It always, without fail, manages to paralyze its target if it makes contact. Now it can even affect Pokemon who have no discernible mouth which by logic suggests the spores act like a nerve agent being absorbed through the skin as well as through the mouth and body." He said shocking her with his analytical breakdown of the attack.

It was now Joy's turn to stare at Dawson with a flabbergasted look on her face as he continued. The Yanma and Yanmega, the violence in the field, and now this apparent threat to the town. It was becoming too much for her to comprehend. However Dawson continued on regardless.

"Now even if the Pokemon's attacks haven't changed the paralysis still affects humans. Most of the time it's never in high enough quantities to really cause undue harm. I've seen situations where multiple attacks of stun spore was enough to cause disruption in the motor functions of humans. What do you think would happen if someone got caught in a cloud of that density?" He asked rhetorically, "Even if you don't agree on the end result of how I dealt with the insect Pokemon you saw what happened. Two of those kids are dead, not only dead but being eaten by those bug types along with the Mareep. My Pokemon ripped apart the bugs and I'm sure they were also holding back. My Gardevoir actually healed a wound on a human. Even you can't say that something about them hasn't changed. Until I figure out what has changed about them I'm going to just assume the worst."

Joy looked shocked at this information. She had never even considered Pokemon attacks truly fatal, dangerous maybe but never enough to kill. Every now and then her sister would talk about how someone came in with an injury from a Pokemon but most were easily dealt with in a similar manner to Dawson's hand.

"What... no, I've never heard of any attacks causing serious harm to any humans... this is insane. You're… you're not normal... something is wrong with you. To think like that isn't normal." She said.

Dawson fixed Joy with a patronizing look as he sighed and handed back the telescope finished with his observation of the Pokemon, "I fully admit I honestly don't exactly have a normal outlook on Pokemon. My view of them has been... colored... unfortunately." He said.

Dawson shuddered as he remembered his childhood and continued watching the inexorable movement of the spore cloud as it began to cover the town in its yellow haze. Nurse Joy was taken aback for a moment as she began to think about what Dawson said. The color drained from her face as the represented reality struck her and she looked at the trainer with a desperation in her eyes.

"If- If that's true then everyone in the town... everyone in Agricola... Oh no... We have to go help them!" She cried aghast.

Before Dawson could even respond she was off, running down the hill and towards the path that lead back to the town, "Joy wait! There's not enough time! You don't know what that powder will do to you!" His shouting ignored as she quickly disappeared from sight along the forest path, "Crap... she's going to get herself killed at this rate."

As the words came out of his mouth that sinking feeling hit Dawson's stomach again as he realized he was talking about the town full of people who did nothing but help him. He had come to grips with the idea of Pokemon attacks being lethal quickly which he agreed was not normal. His cavalier attitude towards the people of the town however was what bothered him. Dawson had always been a bit detached but this worried him. Sticking to fingers in his mouth he let out a sharp whistle.

Hearing the sound Dawson's Rapidash trotted over to him and waited for him to climb on. Doing so quickly Dawson looked over at his other Pokemon guarding the children and realized if he left the kids alone they might get attacked by the Yanma and Yanmega again. He didn't like the idea of heading into the town without a full lineup of Pokemon but knew his choice was already determined.

"Togekiss you're with me and Rapidash, The rest of you stay here and guard the children." He said.

With that Togekiss floated over to Dawson and Rapidash. The three of them then set out after Nurse Joy. It wasn't difficult for the trio to catch up with her. Pulling up beside her on the trail leading to the town Dawson looked down at the running Nurse Joy.

"As much as I believe everyone in that town is dead having you running off half cocked is only going to get your name added to the already long obituaries. However seeing as I don't actually think I can stop you I might as well make sure you don't get killed." He said ignoring the death glare she gave him.

Both Dawson's Rapidash and Nurse Joy slowed down eventually standing silently on the trail. Reaching a hand out Dawson waited expectantly for Nurse Joy to climb on. With a sour look she took his hand and with his help climbed onto the back of his Rapidash. With both of them now safely on Dawson's steed they continued down the trail towards the alpine town.

"What about the children?" Joy asked quietly as she wrapped her arms around Dawson's waist to help balance herself.

"The rest of my Pokemon are looking after them. They've been with me since the beginning I trust them to keep that group safe for the time being. However we won't be able to waste time in the town. We're going to see if there are any survivors and get whatever traveling supplies we can." He said

"You... You really think everyone is dead?" She asked

"Yes." He said

"Why?" She said

The question didn't surprise Dawson as he got that a lot spent a large amount of time with him. The situation he was in prompting it earlier than usual, "Because I have seen horrible things caused by Pokemon long before this."

His tone said in more ways than one that he wasn't going to speak any more about that as the rest of the short journey was spent in silence. As they approached the town Dawson stopped his Rapidash before they had even been able to see the log cabins. Both of them dismounted and Nurse Joy looked at Dawson, her mind wondering why they stopped early.

"Why are we getting off now, the town is still a bit further..." She asked.

"Yes but this is the edge of the cloud of Stun spore. If we go any further it's likely to start affecting us."Dawson replied as he pointed down the trail.

The path ahead continued onward but the further it went the dustier the path and ground became and the foggier it was both of which carried the sickly yellow color of the spores. The entire area was covered changed the once green paths yellow. Rapidash pawed the ground nervously at the sight while Togekiss floated a good few meters away from the fog.

"I'm going no further than this. I have no clue what the hell that stuff will do to a human. I have an idea... but I don't intend to find out." Dawson said.

Nurse Joy's eyes widened at that statement, "What about the survivors then?" She asked in shock at the callousness of Dawson.

"I don't know. I bet, however, if you go in there and find out you're likely not going to be coming back out again." He replied.

Nurse Joy was at an impasse in her mind. She knew she had a duty to the people of the town but what Dawson had said up to this point couldn't be refuted so easily. In the end though her friends were located inside that cloud and she had to know.

"Fine then, stay here!" She shouted.

Before Dawson could say anything else she pulled out a handkerchief to cover her mouth and ran ahead into the fog. Behind her she could hear Dawson shouting her name but paid it no mind. Running as fast as she could she quickly disappeared from Dawson's view. The further into the fog Joy got the more she realized the only noise being made was her breathing and footsteps on the ground. Every other sound being muffled by the cloud of deadly toxins.

As Joy ran she moved passed the forest edge and made it out to the clearing where the houses were located. She knew the area like the back of her hand yet she still had to slow down as she was starting to have difficulty seeing. The Stun spore cloud was not only incredibly dense but something was wrong with her eyes. As she continued walking her vision began to water and blur, slowly she began losing sight as the world around her became a massive yellow smear in her eyes.

As her eyesight becoming worse she was forced to stop, even walking was too much. Joy looked back and forth unable to distinguish anything around her. Trying to see her hand in front of her face Joy could only discern a small patch of pink surrounded by the blurry yellow of the spore fog. Her breathing becoming more rapid with her panic she began to feel her eyes close weighed down as if she hadn't slept in days. Once closed however her body refused any mental commands to open her eyelids her face soon becoming numb with paralysis as well. Suddenly Joy's legs gave out on her and she fell to her knees, then to the ground, her arms losing strength like her legs with each passing moment.

In almost no time at all she had lost almost all movement in her body and without the piece of cloth blocking the spores she could feel her panicked breaths becoming labored as more and more of the paralytic spores found their way into her lungs and body. Joy felt her eyes water again not due to the spores but because she realized that she was going to die here. Her body eventually would be covered by the yellow dust and, like the rest of the town, most likely remain like this until a Pokemon felt hungry enough to eat her paralyzed body.

"Togekiss, DEFOG!" Dawson's voice rang out in the silence like an explosion.

It was quickly followed by blast of air around Joy as the spores were pushed back in all directions. Dawson made his way to Joy, his face covered by his shirt as a stopgap against the spores. He knew it wasn't long before he'd end up like Joy, even his Togekiss's defog had a limited effect, pushing back the cloud of toxins to about a room sized area of breathable air that was rapidly shrinking.

"Togekiss, Defog us a path to her cabin," He ordered chuckling to himself. "and here I thought that HM tech was useless."Dawson said.

His partner Pokemon nodded and following the command. Another blast of wind sent the spores floating back and away from the three of them. A corridor forming in the spores Dawson, having lifted up Joy in his arms, ran as fast as his paralyzed limbs would take him. Getting to the door to the log cabin Dawson lifted up his leg and simply kicked the door open, the impact enough to break the metal latch door handle. Rushing inside with his Togekiss he let the Pokemon close the door behind him.

Much to his relief the windows were both closed and the inside of the cabin was spore free. Heading over to the bed he lay down Joy and reached into a side pocket on his backpack. He thanked whatever Pokemon god governed luck that it was still placed on the chair next to the bed. Pulling out a small plastic container he opened it up and from one side, nestled within the foam inside, pulled out a small plastic L shaped object. From the other side Dawson pulled from inside the foam, with further urgency as he began to feel his limbs growing weak, a pair of plastic containers both holding a yellow viscous liquid inside.

Without wasting a second he snapped the first plastic container to the L and pushed the two together into the neck of the comatose Nurse Joy. The liquid inside bubbling slightly as the paralyze heal was injected into the bloodstream of the Pokemon Nurse. Pulling off the now empty container he then snapped the second one into place and did the same feeling the pinprick of the needle and the injection of the antidote into his own bloodstream.

Feeling the strength coming back to his arms and legs made Dawson let out a sigh of relief. He had no clue whether or not Pokemon medicine would have worked on humans but luck was on his side today. Looking over at nurse Joy with a mixture of concern on his face he waited for a sign the paralyze heal was working. After a moment his relief drained away as he realized she still wasn't breathing.

Without waiting another second he reached over, one hand pinching her nose the other holding open her mouth, and pressed his lips to hers. Breathing in a lungful of air once then a second time trying to get her to breathe. Following what he remembered from the CPR lessons they always taught in school, yet he never thought would be useful, Dawson then placed his hands together on the center of her chest and began compressions.

After a few compressions he saw her move and looked up to see Nurse Joy coughing and gasping for air. Turning her head to the side he let her cough, her spit the same yellowish color as the spores, reaching into the plastic case again and pulled out the last container of paralyze heal and injected her again.

"I seriously hope you can't overdose on this stuff..." Dawson said.

He watched Joy's labored breathing ease with the injection of the second vial of antidote. Still coughing Joy felt the second prick of the injection and looked up at her savior with a mix of fear and concern. Her body still being wracked with coughing fits.

"What was that?" She managed to get out through bouts of coughing and wheezing.

"Paralyze heal, I always was prepared for the status affects Pokemon used but I never thought I'd be using them on myself..." He said.

Dawson unsnapped the container from the plastic injection kit and tossed the now empty vial to the side. Placing the injector back into his medical case he left it on the side of the bed near Joy's head and rubbed his face.

"Forgive me for saying I told you so... but I told you so. Your lucky I chose to follow you otherwise I'm pretty sure you would be dead now." He added.

Knowing she couldn't manage a decent response through the coughing he reached into his backpack and started pulling out clothes. Seeing Joy watch him amidst the bouts of coughing he finished pulling out the necessary clothes and looked at her. The winter gear stored in his pack was heavy and thick made for the colder climate of Sinnoh.

"While I doubt very much anyone is left alive in this area, you need to rest a little while and finish your coughing stint, so I'm going to wrap up in as many layers as possible, head outside, look for survivors, and maybe get some food from the nearby houses." He said.

Dawson amused himself with irony that just a day ago he was complaining about having such heavy clothes and now they were proving invaluable to his survival outside. Putting on his jacket, winter gloves, hat, and scarf Dawson realized he needed something to wear over his eyes. He felt himself start to sweat almost immediately as he looked for something to cover his eyes.

"You don't have some sort of goggles do you?" He asked.

Joy chose not to respond instead just pointing to a case with a red cross on it. Dawson headed over and opened the case to find, amongst the various other first aid supplies, a set of safety goggles. Nodding in satisfaction he put them on and adjusted the hat and scarf to prevent dust from entering the goggles. From the scarf came the muffled voice of Dawson.

"I should be back in less than five minutes. Togekiss make sure she doesn't do anything stupid again." He then looked over at Joy. "When I get back we'll need to be ready to move, pack as many of your nurse supplies you can comfortably carry and if there's something you need to take for personal reasons make sure its small and easy to carry."

With that he slid open the now hatch less door and stepped out into the fog, closing the door behind him immediately to avoid the spores from getting in. Outside Dawson looked through the goggles at the area around him. Choosing to simply go door to door he made his way through the village inspecting each house in turn.

As he surmised most didn't have much in the way of supplies he could salvage. It seemed to him that they got their supplies intermittently or grew them in small gardens behind the buildings. However with the spores covering all the plants there was no way to quickly identify edible ones.

The lack of supplies didn't bother him so much, he had already figured that the town likely received shipments rather than store things. As he searched Dawson stepped over and around a few of the people with ease to get to some of the houses. With only six houses it was easy to check all of them as Dawson made his way to the main barn.

It wasn't until he got close to the barn did he get hit with the deaths of the people of town. Before him was the body of the farmer and his son. Walking up to the two bodies Dawson knelt down next to them. Their unmoving corpses gathering the yellow spores and they floated down towards the ground. In his gut Dawson felt regret for their loss, they were nice people and truly didn't deserve this kind of death. Not being able to do anything for their bodies in his current state Dawson sighed though his scarf. Reaching over their faces he slid two finger across their eyes and closed their lids.

"I hope you didn't suffer... I think you people will be the lucky ones. This place is quickly becoming less welcome for humans." He said standing up and continuing to the barn.

Stepping inside Dawson stopped in his tracks and simply stared at scene inside. There was plenty of dead Pokemon and humans scattered about inside to be sure but it was the fact that three of the Ponyta actually survived the stun spore that caught him off guard. Apparently the spores could only move into the barn so much with the wind the pushing them around. This and the fact that the barn was a large structure allowed the Ponyta in the center to remain remarkably alive while everyone else had suffered horrible deaths.

As Dawson approached the fire Pokemon they neighed nervously. They had been awake during the first seconds of the Stun spore fog rolling into the town. The Ponyta watching as their fellow Pokemon and stable hands had died gasping for air. Only at the behest of one of the now dead humans did they remain still. Dawson knew they'd likely spook easily and had to deal with them carefully. He figured could get them to come along they'd improve his groups odds for survival.

Reaching to his waist he pulled out his Rapidash's poke ball and let out his Pokemon. The Ponyta stomped their feet nervously at first but calmed down when they saw the Rapidash that had been with them during the morning. Dawson patted the side of his Rapidash and spoke quietly into it's ear.

"We need these Ponyta to come along with us, can you convince them to get inside a Pokeball so we can get them out of here without them getting killed?"

Nodding Rapidash walked over to the other three Pokemon and brought it's face near theirs. A short time later Dawson's Rapidash looked back at him and nodded. With that Dawson pulled out three spare pokeballs in his jacket pocket and tagged each of the Ponyta pulling them into the red and white ball without any issue. His Rapidash returning to her own ball Dawson wondered if the limit of six Pokemon was still in effect. After few moments with the three new Ponyta not being sent to the storage system he had his answer.

"Time to head back to Joy... I don't think there's anyone else here..."

Adjusting his clothes, his sweat making them fairly uncomfortable to be in, Dawson turned around and headed back to the Pokemon Nurse's Cabin.

Stepping inside the cabin Dawson was greeted with the sight of Nurse Joy packing up a small medical backpack with various things from around her house. Hearing him come in Joy looked up with an expectant look. Dawson removed the goggles and scarf before shaking his head.

"The only survivors are three Ponyta from the main barn... I didn't see any human survivors at all..." He said

The sound of the medical backpack hitting the floor broke the silence left by Dawson's statement. Nurse Joy felt her legs give out beneath her, for a second time this day, as she fell to the floor. She had been holding onto hope but Dawson's frank statement had finally forced her to face reality. Tears began streaming down her face as she sniffled on the ground. Moving her hands up to to her eyes she wanted to wipe away the tears but could only manage to cry softly in her hands.

Dawson watched as Nurse Joy broke down in front of him. He knew he should be more sensitive to her situation but they were still trapped in a house surrounded by clouds of deadly spores and they needed to get out of there. Walking over to his backpack he took off his excess clothes, dusting them off in a corner, before folding them up and placing them back into the pack. Turning to Joy he walked over and knelt down beside her crying form.

"Joy..." he started hesitantly "I know you're probably really depressed right now, but we can't waste time here." Her only response was to continue crying into her hands, "Joy... I don't know if anyone from the town got out alive... but the children up in the field are still alive. We have a responsibility now to keep them safe. Me and my Pokemon can protect them but I don't know those kids. I need your help to take care of them. They look at you as an adult and a familiar face. They'll listen to you and go along with what you tell them. I don't think they'll do the same for me." Dawson put a hand on her shoulder and turned her kneeling form to face him. He still couldn't see her face, blocked as it was by her hands, but he continued anyways, "I know you need time to mourn but we don't have it. The longer we stay away from the children the greater the risk that something else will try to kill them. When we get out of here we can mourn the deaths of the people properly but for now I need you to stomach that sadness and pain. We're both going to have to be able to move to get out of here. Togekiss has only a limited use of defog and we need to be able to make it last to the edge of the cloud."

Dawson watched her with apprehension hoping that his words were reaching her. If he couldn't convince her to leave with him he wasn't sure how he'd get out of here. He needed her to keep the children in line but couldn't make it out of the cloud if she wouldn't move on her own. Tense moments passed by as he waited for a response.

Joy did hear everything Dawson said yet the depression convinced her it was better to die here then deal with the pain of losing so many friends. All good people they took care of her when she was just starting out. Always understanding and kind, their deaths stuck her in a way much worse than any physical injury could manage. Yet something Dawson said reached her through the haze of sadness and regret that surrounded her.

"Th- The children are still alive." Joy managed through sniffs. "They need us... and I need them. I- I can run."

Standing up she used her hands and wiped away the tears as best she could. Her face showing as much resolve as it could through the pain of her loss. She picked up her medical backpack and strapped it over her Nurse uniform. Each action helping get her mind off the shock of her situation.

Dawson couldn't help but smile at the strength she was unknowingly showing. Standing up he reached for his backpack and flipped it on. As it came to rest against his back the bruise from the previous night sent out a flare of pain through his body as he grimaced. At some point he knew he'd have to talk to Joy about that but for now survival took priority.

"Let's go Joy." Dawson said looking at his Togekiss as it got ready to spam it's defog and allow them their chance to escape.

"Thats NURSE Joy." She replied regaining a small measure of her pride.

Dawson's smile grew slightly at her regained vigor. Walking over to the door he signaled his Togekiss to get ready. With a swift motion he opened the door to the spore filled outside.

"Togekiss, DEFOG!"


	4. Chapter 4

Pokemon belongs to whoever owns Pokemon.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. All ire and hatred for deaths and dismemberments of favorite characters shall be forwarded to him.

August 17th

Johto Mountains

The Pokemon watched their trainer ride off with Togekiss and Rapidash down the path after Nurse Joy. His last order to them before he was lost from sight was to keep the children safe. While they would comply with the order they also planned to take this rare opportunity to converse amongst themselves.

"So... since none of you have talked about it yet I'm just going to come out and say what everyone is thinking. What was that message we heard in our heads?" Luxray asked.

The other three Pokemon thought about it. They had all suspected the others heard the voice and it was all but confirmed when they saw each of their companions displaying the same lethal power as themselves. While they all knew by now the others heard the voice like them none were sure what they should do about it.

Gardevoir was the first to speak up from the group. She was currently sitting near the children, the one she had healed resting her head in the Psychic Pokemon's lap, letting her calm mind ability seep out and affect the Mareep and Children. She would have preferred not to override their natural reactions with her powers but she knew they'd likely have been inconsolable and possibly still panicked if she didn't

"I've given you the power to take back our world from the humans. Kill any who stand against you." She said repeating what they all heard, "I don't know who sent that message or why they would desire such violence against humans, but I intend to do the exact opposite."

She stroked the hair of the little girl fretfully sleeping in her lap. She had healed a serious gash on her leg and the girl's thanks had given her a surge of pride she never felt before. She also was able to calm down the children with her mind, making her wonder just how powerful her psychic powers had grown.

"I look at these young ones and I know I could never do them harm. I think-" Gardevoir paused to consider the next words she spoke. "-If our trainer does not chose to take care of the children... if he abandons them, I will leave him and stay with these children."

Both Luxray and Torterra looked genuinely shocked at her response. To leave Dawson of their own volition seemed ludicrous to them. Gyarados however simply grumbled at her words. This made Gardevoir to look up at him with a glare that could freeze water.

"You think I would not?" She asked with a dangerous tone of voice.

Gyarados shifted about, its massive weight upturning the ground immediately around him. He wasn't avoiding Gardevoir look or reacting to it he just liked to be moving and this sitting made him fidgety. He was cautious in all things and his words were no exception as he chose them calmly.

"I think... it will not... matter... at all." He replied slowly his words being carefully chosen and deliberate, "Dawson... does not abandon... the weak." He said, Gyarados had no doubt in his mind that Dawson would take care of these children.

He watched as the dawning came to Gardevoir as to his confidence in his trainer, "Yes... your right Gyarados. Forgive me I had thought of that." She said as Luxray and Torterra both looked at her with confusion at the decision they had both seemed to come to.

Luxray voicing his confusion while Torterra chose to let his blue partner do the talking, "Wait have you guys figured out something that we didn't?" She asked.

Gardevoir smiled and looked at her two companions, "I made the mistake of assuming Dawson wouldn't care for the children when Gyarados is proof that he would. If Dawson were so callous and short sighted to abandon the children then our large friend here would have never had the chance to evolve from his Magikarp origins. Dawson would have abandoned him for being weak and useless as well."

Torterra looked at Luxray who bore the same confused look as his grass counterpart, "I don't think I get it..." She said, "But assuming that our trainer wouldn't leave these kids... what about us? Our attacks are powerful now, terrifyingly so, what happens if we hurt Dawson or even one of the children? Those bugs were crazy, it's like they didn't even act like they knew what they were doing. It almost felt like we fought something that was only acting through instinct."

Gardevoir looked at the child she had saved and specifically at her leg. While the other children hadn't been as badly injured as her they all bore the stains and tears on their clothes of their flight from the bug Pokemon. The young girl had been much more personal to Gardevoir however.

"I don't know about the bugs, if they did act as you said then I don't think we need to worry about them swarming for a long while yet." She said.

"What about... the others... the spore Pokemon?" Gyarados asked looking at spore cloud that was falling down on the alpine town.

"I don't feel any animosity coming from those Pokemon." Gardevoir said as she looked at the cloud with anxiety. "They seem to be simply doing what they always have done all their lives, "I don't believe they even realize that they're Stun spore can kill humans."

She knew Dawson was a capable and resourceful trainer. With both Rapidash and Togekiss supporting him eased her mind slightly. However her future sight didn't work that far ahead and she worried none the less.

"Even if those balls of fluff aren't aggressive" Luxray piped in. "What about other Pokemon? Not all Pokemon have had good interactions with humans you know."

"Our... new power... is proof... of that." Gyarados said.

"Right, Not only are plenty of Pokemon going to revel in this new power... but what about us? We're also powerful to the point where Rapidash burned our trainers hand by accident. What if we hurt Dawson again... or what if we hurt the children? Gardevoir I know you want to protect them but even you have to admit that our strength could easily spiral out of control..." Luxray said.

"I won't let that happen." Gardevoir said with finality.

"If it don't happen, it won't happen!" Torterra said finally tossing his two cents in.

Luxray gave him a patronizing look before shaking her head. His mentality was always frustratingly simple when it came to complex issues. She was about to send a sarcastic remark Torterra's way but was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"What about us?" One of the Mareep chimed in.

Luxray looked over at the Mareep surrounding the children and Gardevoir. One of the sheep, looking slightly larger and most likely the leader of the group, had stepped towards the electric Pokemon. It carried a concerned look as it spoke again.

"We want to protect the children they are our masters now." The Mareep said looking over at the now spore covered village.

Gardevoir responded to the leader of the Mareep. "Dawson is a kind trainer and also pragmatic as well, he will surely consider you to be an asset worth bringing."

Inwardly Gardevoir regretted making it sound much more callous than she intended. Part of being Dawson's preferred battling Pokemon was his personality sometimes wore off on her. Before she could dwell on it though Luxray spoke up again.

"What about Rapidash and Togekiss? I kinda feel like we're leaving them out of this whole talk." She said.

"Rapidash is happy as long as she can run and even more so that she met some of the town's Ponyta. While she might want to spend more of her time outside the pokeball I doubt she'd be so fickle as to betray Dawson over something like that. Togekiss was hatched by Dawson and she regards him as her father, she's unlikely to ever betray him or argue against anything he does. Both of them would have limited input into this conversation overall..." Gardevoir replied.

With that Gardevoir let the conversation between the Pokemon continue on around her. Luxray still bringing up points of concern while Torterra and Gyarados listened. The Mareep content with Gardevoir's reassurance let the leader continue talking while the rest when back to grazing.

Still feeling nervous however Gardevoir once again used future sight to see shortly into the future. She had used it intermittently during the conversation while waiting for Dawson to return. Even with Gyarados's reassurance of Dawson taking care of the children her heart was still filled with apprehension.

Dawson lay back against the a nearby tree and attempted to catch his breath next to Nurse Joy who was doing the same except for intermittent bouts of coughing. They had just left the spore cloud behind them and after a breakneck run with both of them carrying backpacks they stopped a moment to rest. After a particularly bad bout of coughing Dawson looked over at Joy with some concern.

"It sounds like you need another dose of Paralyze heal Joy..."

The Pokemon Nurse shook her head as she regained control of her breathing, "No... although hearing advice on how I should take care of myself from the man who is still running around with a potentially serious back injury isn't very reassuring. It doesn't matter either way though since you don't have anymore in your medical case and I don't have any with mine. The town was supposed to get a resupply from Agricola in a couple of days. I doubt we're going to get it though."

Standing up Dawson pulled out two of his poke balls. Returning Togekiss to its ball he let out Rapidash and looked to Joy, "Regardless we can ride Rapidash back to the clearing." he said.

Walking his fire Pokemon to a nearby rock he stepped on in then climbed onto his steed. Joy, finally able to breathe without a bout of coughing, walked over and climbed on with Dawson's assistance. Nervously she held onto his waist again asking a question that had been on her mind for the last few minutes.

"What are we going to do when we get back?" She asked.

Dawson looked over his shoulder at Joy as she stared at him waiting for a response, "Well... I have a plan for our immediate future. Get to a city and find out what happened. Which means we need supplies first which means we head for Agricola. It'll likely only take the day to get down there especially if you or the kids know of paths and such that avoid the spore cloud. Once there we make for the Pokemon center. There we can plan our next major course of action while loading up on supplies and checking to see if we can contact anyone."

"I assume you believe everyone there is dead as well." Joy said frowning and averting her eyes.

"Yes. If what you say about those floating grass Pokemon is true then they likely started in the valley where Agricola is and made their way up towards the alpine pasture. If that's the case then it's likely we'll face the same difficulties getting in there as we did the town."

Nurse Joy sighed dejectedly at the sobering reality. She never once worried about death around her. Every now and then a Pokemon would be too injured to save but this was different than that. Apparently it was a skill Dawson had to force her to face the new reality of this world.

"You seem rather well adjusted for this situation." She said looking at him again. "More so than me."

Dawson blinked and turned forwards to break eye contact, "Yeah... I guess I'm lucky like that..." He said with an artificial lightness in his voice. "Maybe I'm just crazy and this world is falling in step with my insanity."

Joy could only see the back of Dawson's head but from the sound of the voice her statement hit a much closer to home then he let on. It wasn't the first time he had made such odd statements about his view of things. She coughed to clear her throat and tried to console him.

"Umm... if you are crazy, not that I'm saying you are, but if you were it wouldn't be so bad." She blinked a moment before she realized what she said, hastily trying to amend the statement. "I mean it's not good being crazy, but... umm... well..." Joy said as she tried to think of a way to dig herself out of the hole she made with just a few sentences.

"It's OK Joy." Dawson said smiling at her attempt. "It's not something I need to figure out but for now... we're here."

Riding into the clearing on Rapidash the two were greeted with the sight of the children enjoying the company of Dawson's Pokemon. The two boys were climbing over Torterra as he sunbathed. His shell and tree making an excellent playground for the children. Luxray was enjoying herself as a pair of the girls were petting the soft blue pelt of the lightning Pokemon. One girl was napping next to one of the Mareep while May, the child healed by Gardevoir, was sleeping soundly her head resting in the lap of the psychic Pokemon.

Dismounting with Nurse Joy Dawson headed over to the overlook while Nurse Joy went to go watch the children. Taking off his backpack Dawson began unloading everything on the grassy knoll. He picked up a small note pad from where it rested along with the other unloaded objects on the grass. With a pen in hand he began taking stock of everything in the backpack writing them down on one side of the notepad or the other.

"Clothes, small amount of food, pots and cooking gear, and various on the trail snack food." He said.

Sighing at how short the list was he looked back over to the others as the children continued to play. He knew that what he had on him would only last a day. Reaching over he unfolded his map and picked up his Poketch and checked their current location and the town of Agricola. After marking down the distance he put both the map and Poketch down.

Standing up he looked across the knoll towards the town. Dawson picked up a few blades of grass and let them fall, watching as they floated towards the Alpine town. Satisfied with the direction of the wind he assumed for the time being that they could stay here for a short while while he planned. Looking up from his task he glanced over at the children.

Joy had gathered the children together and was trying to talk to them. From what Dawson could see however she was struggling for words, constantly fumbling and pausing. Eventually she stood up and walked over to him with a concerned look on her face.

"I... I want to tell the children what happened, but I'm having trouble finding the words to explain it to them. Could... Could you give me a hand?" She asked.

Dawson cocked an eyebrow at the Pokemon nurse. Standing up he walked over to the children, "Hey kids, listen up." The eyes of the children turned to him, "There was a bit of an incident at the the town and Agricola. Your parents instructed me and Nurse Joy to take you to the nearest city while they take care of it. Now I believe that's Blackthorn city so we'll be heading there as soon as I figure out the best route. If you have any questions you can ask Joy."

Turning he headed back towards his backpack as Joy watched him walk away wide eyed. Walking after him, she quickly caught up and grabbed his arm, turning him towards her, "You lied to them!" She whispered to the trainer.

"Yes I did, trying to get them to cope so soon after they've been terrorized by the bug Pokemon won't help us get to Agricola much less Blackthorn city." Dawson replied in a level tone.

"This is wrong... they need to know!" Joy hissed her grip tightening.

Dawson looked down at her hand holding his arm then back to the Pokemon nurse. Her face was distraught and he could tell she was still holding in the pain from the cabin. Sighing he put his free hand up to his face before responding.

"And they will know... just not now. Give them some time, from the look of it you haven't even come to terms with what happened yourself."

For a moment Dawson felt Joy's hand squeeze his arm even further. She released it a second later, her arm falling limply at her side in defeat. Her face was a mix of conflicted emotions. Dawson could tell she was having a personal debate between her logic and her feelings.

"Listen Joy. Just spend some time with the kids. I'm sure that'll help get your mind off of what happened. Oh just one thing first, what did you bring in your pack? I need to figure out what we have on hand for the trip to Agricola then Blackthorn."

Joy nodded then pulled off her medical backpack, she opened it up and showed Dawson what he already suspected, "Alright, thank you Joy, at least we won't be lacking in medicine anytime soon."

She looked down at the trainers pack and notes with a little confusion, "What are you doing?" she asked tentatively.

"Figuring out what exactly we have in terms of resources. We need to head out once I have a list down. From here we'll head down towards Agricola. If you know of trails to take that avoid the main path which the Spore cloud covers that'll be a big help." Dawson replied placidly.

"I always used the main routes, it's the children you want to ask about that." She said.

Dawson looked up from his notes and pointed his pen at her, "Could you ask, you know them better? I need to keep planning the logistics of this little endeavor. Oh and take these three Pokeballs. The Ponyta I found in the fog are inside, let them out to mingle with the others."

Nodding as she took the Poke balls Nurse Joy headed back towards the children. Most had scattered back to the various Pokemon Dawson owned. Dawson was correct in his assessment of her knowledge. Walking over to one of the boys climbing on Torterra's shell walking up she spoke to the child.

"Marcus... I wanted to ask you something." She said.

Marcus looked up from where he was sitting on the tree, "Yeah, Nurse Joy?" The boy asked.

"The trainer who's chaperoning with me wants to know of a trail that goes to Agricola that's away from the main road, could you go help him out in finding one?" She asked doing her best to put on a sweet smile.

"Yeppers!" The boy replied enthusiastically.

Marcus hopped off the tree and landing on the soft ground with a thump. Joy smiled as she watched him hurry over to Dawson. Letting the other boy take Marcus's spot on Torterra she walked around the varied Pokemon watching the children, feeling slightly better that all the children taken up to the alpine pastures were here and not back in the town.

Getting to the second part of her task Joy released the three Ponyta from their Poke balls. The children and Pokemon looked up and watched the three new arrivals for a second before going back to whatever they were doing. The only one who gave the Ponyta any acknowledgment was Dawson's Rapidash who trotted over and nuzzled against the noses of the three Pokemon. Smiling at the small gesture Rapidash showed the others Joy began walking around, watching the children as they wandered about.

As she passed by Togekiss and Luxray she watched as they did what they could to keep the children cheerful. Togekiss was giving rides around the clearing to any of the children brave enough to climb on. Luxray was simply laying on the ground as the two girls patted and rubbed the electric Pokemon's blue fur and mane. Joy couldn't help but feel Luxray was getting the better deal as it continuously let out a long series of contented purrs.

As she moved around Joy approached Gardevoir who had the young girl May resting in her lap again. Joy paused in her watching of everyone to stare at the scene. She had always heard about the bonds people formed with their Pokemon but to her this had a surreal aspect to it she couldn't place her finger on. As she watched Gardevoir looked up at the Pokemon Nurse surprising Joy and making her blush as if she had seen something inappropriate.

"S- Sorry..." She said, fumbling the word slightly.

Blushing even more she turned around and headed back to Dawson. As she approached she passed Marcus who ran off to gather all the other kids. Dawson had just finished putting in the last of his supplies into his backpack and was currently tightening the straps. As Joy approached and lifted up her pack Dawson spoke without looking up from his work.

"So what that Marcus kid tells me is that this entire mountain range is riddled with trails and paths that all eventually lead back to Agricola. With that in mind I'm going to have him lead us down some of the more remote paths to get us to a campsite about a mile away from Agricola. It apparently has a small stream going through it and tables along with platforms for tents we can use tonight. With any luck the place will be spore free since it's a good distance away from the town and in the woods. Assuming the entire valley isn't covered in the dust."

Joy listened as she finished putting on her pack alongside Dawson as he continued talking, "I'm going to be returning Gyarados, Togekiss, Rapidash and the three Ponyta to their Poke balls during the trip. I'd like to do the same to the Mareep but I don't have enough Poke balls."

Looking over at the children and Pokemon Joy did a quick headcount, "That leaves... your blue one, and the two grass types?" She asked.

"Technically one grass type, Gardevoir is a psychic Pokemon. Torterra is the grass and ground type and Luxray is an electric. Gardevoir can sense the feelings of people and Pokemon. That along with her Future sight means she'll be able to sense anyone getting too close. Luxray has, for lack of a better term, X-ray eyes. If Gardevoir can sense them she can point them out to Luxray making them pretty much impossible to sneak up on.

Once we get down to the campsite we'll set up a place like this and leave some of the Pokemon to watch the children while me and you head into the town to pick up supplies. From there we'll stock up, plan our trail and then head out for Blackthorn city. The trip is going to be a bit difficult since we need to mountain climb so I'm hoping Agricola will have what we need to make the journey."

Joy nodded as she listened in to Dawson's plan. Blackthorn did seem like the logical choice, unlike Agricola which didn't have much in the way of civilization Blackthorn was not only a large enough city to support a Gym but had several locations attractive to Pokemon trainers. The city's gym also was of the dragon Pokemon type which, at least to Joy, seemed like the strongest and most likely to keep the town safe.

Dawson headed towards the children and Pokemon watching as Marcus ran about gathering the children. He had asked the young boy to let everyone know they were getting ready to move and the kid seemed to enjoy the responsibility. As he walked a thought crossed his mind and he paused for a moment thinking back. Looking at Joy he had the red tint of a blush across his face as he asked.

"Hey did I ever tell you my name?" He asked.

Joy stopped and thought about that question for a moment, she wanted to be sure she just didn't remember it. Try as she might though she couldn't remember any time Dawson told her his name. This caused her face to blush slightly as well as she thought about the amount of time she spent with him without knowing his name.

"N-No you didn't..." She replied blushing slightly at the lack of basic formalities.

Chuckling to himself Dawson marveled at how distracted they were to forget such formalities. Holding out his hand he offered it to Joy. "Dawson. Dawson Feeds." He said.

He said introducing himself to the Pokemon Nurse as she took his hand and grinned at him, "Hello Dawson, you can call me NURSE Joy." She said her smile becoming much more smug.

Dawson rolled his eyes in mock indignation at Joy as she continued walking towards the kids her head head held high as she played up her smugness for a few smiles. Turning towards the group Dawson got his Poke balls ready and spoke in a loud enough voice for the group to hear.

"Alright kids as you heard from Marcus we're moving out soon... it's going to be a bit of a tough journey but if you get tired you can get a ride from one of the Pokemon, IF you ask them nicely. And without further ado... LET'S MOVE OUT!"


	5. Chapter 5

Pokemon belongs to whoever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. It's like he managed to mainline the essence of Voldemort into Ho-oh, the man is insane!

August 17th

Johto Mountains

Dawson surveyed the campsite the group had finally arrived at. Most of the party was dead tired their journey having been a near forced march as Dawson wanted to get to the site before nightfall. That combined with at least several hours of simple backtracking and climbing back up the mountain to avoid Pokemon and clouds of stun spore had worn everyone down to the bone. The children had a slightly easier time as they ended up riding on Torterra, however Dawson's Pokemon wasn't the softest ride and they ended up with more energy but much more sore. It was almost comical how both the kids and Nurse Joy nearly collapsed where they were.

Knowing they group wasn't likely to wander, exhausted as they were, Dawson continued to look about the campgrounds. A central fire pit occupied the center of the grounds it's ring of stones large enough that, with the nearby logs, a sizable blaze could be built within it. Surrounding the main campfire was several smaller ones a ways away. Each one sized for personal use rather than the large center pit meant for gatherings.

Scattered about near the smaller campfires was a number of raised wooden platforms. Designed to keep tents dry they also acted as stable platforms for them as well. The ground could support tents however as much of it was cleared away and beaten down from many years of people walking over it. There was also fewer trees within the area as several of them had been cut down to provide log benches or wood for the tent platforms. Marcus was correct in his recollection of the area as well as a small river did flow though, thankfully shallow enough that there wasn't any Pokemon living within it.

Dawson's gaze eventually fell to a small log cabin located near the stream at the far end of the camp. He speculated that this was the owner's cottage and the first place needing to be examined. If the groundskeeper was alive he needed to be informed of what was going on and possibly convinced to accompany them as they traveled.

Signaling to Gardevoir to accompany him he took off his backpack while she finished lowering the last child off of Torterra. Of the Pokemon outside she was the most rested as her natural ability to float made her spend less energy climbing down the mountain. Floating over the two of them headed towards the groundskeeper's cabin. Dawson couldn't help but expect the worst as he noticed no movement despite the noise his group made.

Walking up to the door to the cabin he knocked sharply against the door only to have it slide inwards unlocked and slightly ajar. Sighing as his fears were once again proved right he pushed the door open entirely and almost lost his lunch at the sight before him. With speed he wasn't even sure how he managed the door was slammed shut. He leaned against the wooden walls trying not to barf at the sight.

The groundskeeper was certainly dead from what Dawson had seen. The man's entire lower body was gone eaten away by something. What was left of his upper torso was torn to shreds and ripped apart by teeth or fangs. Most of his skin had been pulled off and from what Dawson could tell much of the groundskeeper was spread about his home as well almost as if his body was fought over by several attackers.

Trying his best to force down the nausea Dawson collected himself the best he could after a sight like that. Looking to Gardevoir he noticed her watching with concerned eyes. Apparently the psychic Pokemon was picking up on his unease after he saw the grounds keeper. Taking a few deep breaths to clear away the last of the feelings of sickness he signaled to a nearby boulder.

"Gardevoir..." He paused as he felt sick again. "... I want you to move a boulder in front of this door. I don't want anyone getting inside this place." He said

Nodding at the command she stepped away from her trainer and looked toward the camp for a suitable bolder. A large rock as could be found in this area it was half buried in the dirt of the campsite. Lifting up a white arm she pointed it at the bolder and began radiating psychic energy. With an soft purple glow surrounding her she lifted her arm and the bolder came loose with ease. As it hovered she moved her arm and the bolder followed. Eventually the large rock came to rest in front of the door, angled in such a way as to prevent anyone from even hoping to get to the door much less open it.

"Thanks Gardevoir, you can head back to the kids now." He said

The psychic Pokemon nodded and floated back towards the group, passing by nurse Joy as she did so. For a brief second the Pokemon's eyes made contact with the the nurse. It was only a seconds worth and Gardevoir passed before Joy could even figure out why she looked at her. The moment left the Pokemon nurse thoroughly confused for some reason.

Shaking her head a the surreal moment she walked over to Dawson. The trainer was resting against a nearby tree, looking up as she approached. With a concerned look she glanced at the bolder than to Dawson.

"Are you OK Dawson?" She asked.

"Yeah... I just need to collect myself..." He replied looking back at the ground.

"D- Did you find the groundskeeper?" She asked.

"Yeah, or at least half of him." He said.

"Half?" Joy asked getting nervous at the statement.

"Yes... half. No one is to even try going into that cabin Joy. Understand?" He said with an edge to his voice.

"S-Sure... I'll make sure the children don't go near it. What about you though... you don't look OK." She asked walking over and leaning over slightly to look him in the eyes.

"I'm not OK now... but I will be, it's not a sight that's easy to deal with." Dawson replied returning her look with a small smile. "I just need a breather to settle down... you can head back to the kids to tell them, I'll be along in a second."

He watched as Joy paused a moment, as if to say something else, then headed back towards the main campfire where the rest of the group had gathered. With Joy heading back Dawson sighed and looked over the group from where he stood. Thoughts crossed his head as he felt a thought that had been with him since he started rise up again.

'A dozen Mareep, a Rapidash and three Ponyta, Torterra, Gardevoir, Gyarados, Togekiss, and Luxray, plus six children and Nurse Joy along with myself. We don't have close to enough food to cover everyone here. Even leaving my Pokemon in their Poke balls isn't really a solution considering how many times we had to backtrack because Gardevoir felt hostile Pokemon. Tomorrow we're heading into the town for food but even taking everything in there I doubt we could last more than a few weeks... especially if the world received the same treatment as this area... crap these next few days are likely going to suck."

Pushing aside his thoughts Dawson stood upright and glanced once more at the cabin. The nausea he felt was still there but now he at least was able to push it back with some reliability. The sight of the dead grounds keeper would likely haunt him for the rest of his life. Reaching around his waist he got his Poke balls ready to let out his companions to get some air time.

Once at the fire pit he released the Pokemon one by one and let them wander about the area. Dawson wouldn't let the children explore too much but the Pokemon were slightly better at defending themselves. They could also do a better job of feeding themselves as most were grass eaters. Togekiss and Gardevoir were Dawson's only Pokemon that ate a regular diet of Pokemon Food. Gyarados was the one he was concerned with as he ate food in the double digits in terms of weight.

After the last Pokemon was released Dawson keeled down, reaching into his backpack, and began pulling out his cooking gear. This was shortly followed by what was left of the food after lunch with the children. Two weeks worth of food would be consumed tonight by the group which made Dawson's worried all the more pressing. It was those concerns that made him miss the approach of Nurse Joy.

"Can I help with anything?" She asked kneeling down next to Dawson and his supplies.

"Yeah... can you gather some of the logs around here and to help Rapidash get a fire going?" Dawson replied "Once you've done that we can work on getting the tables put together and then making supper for the children."

"OK... is what you said on the way down still true?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes Joy... we're going without food tonight. Until we get some supplies from the town we're going to be going hungry."

Joy sighed and turned to head to the nearest pile of logs. She knew the food should go to the children but her rumbling stomach made her feel envious of the kids. Her portion of lunch was also smaller she had to split it with Dawson to make sure there was enough food for the upcoming supper. The lack of food and the knowledge that her hunger was only going to get worse made hearing that she wouldn't be getting a blanket to sleep with tonight either that much worse.

Evening

Dawson felt that supper went well enough save for the occasional grumbling of both his and Nurse Joy's stomach as the children ate. Marcus and May tried to share their portions but the trainer and nurse would have none of it despite what their stomachs said. The two knew the children, while their hearts were in the right place, would regret sharing later if they accepted their offer.

After supper Joy put the children to bed despite their protest of not being tired. The entire time was made more awkward for Joy as Dawson's Gardevoir was watching her the entire time, as if judging her ability to tuck the kids in. Shaking off her unease as the supervision Joy eventually finished putting the last one to bed and walked to the other side of the fire to sit next to Dawson.

The trainer had spent most of the time Joy was tucking in the children going over his Pokedex. His headphones usually reserved for his Poketch was now attached to his Pokedex. He was moving through the regional list of Pokemon working at memorizing the names, types, and abilities of likely ones they were going to face. He had planned to do it at a much more leisurely pace however currently need drove his desire to learn the area's Pokemon information.

"What is Sinnoh like?" Joy asked quietly as she sat down.

"Cold." Was the curt response from Dawson not even bothering to look up.

"Yes... I understand that. I mean what is the region like beyond temperature." Joy said slightly irritated at the simple response.

Dawson paused in his Pokedex study and his eyes shifted to the fire. He remained still for a few moments before folding close the device while taking off the headphones. Sighing he scratched his head and shifted his gaze skywards.

"Sinnoh... at least from my perspective seems a little to focused on their place in the grand history of creation." Dawson said in a bored voice. "Since it's widely believed that Sinnoh was the first region created by Arceus a lot of people take that a source of pride."

"That doesn't seem that arrogant..." Joy said looking at Dawson.

"On a singular level it isn't. A person can take pride in anything they want and it's not really that annoying. You take a large group of 'people' and suddenly you go from pride in your origins to 'I'm better then you because I was born in a place that's special which make me special' and thats only the beginning of how stupid a lot of people in Sinnoh are." Dawson replied with a hint of bitterness in his voice as he glanced at Joy. "Don't get me wrong, Sinnoh is a great place but there's a reason I stayed as a trainer for so long and it isn't just because I like to travel."

Joy looked somewhat downcast at his words. "Oh... sounds like it isn't as wonderful as my sister made it sound."

"Eh stupid people will be stupid anywhere you go. I also slightly exaggerate somewhat. Most people there are normal enough and there are plenty of tourist spots as well." Dawson said giving Joy an inquisitive look. "Why do you want to know?"

"Me and my sister planned to go after I finished my internship at Agricola's Pokemon center. It was supposed to be a reward... but now- now-" Joy had trouble finishing as tears began welling up in her eyes. "Why Dawson... why did this happen?" She asked trying to fight the urge to cry.

Dawson didn't reply right away, he was concerned with the children and what they might overhear as he doubted any of them were really asleep. He figured at least if he kept the conversation vague they wouldn't be able to fully piece together what they were talking about. At least thats what he hoped.

"I don't know." He said thinking about the last day and a half. "Two nights ago my Pokemon went, for lack of a better term, crazy. Now they seem the same if not much more powerful. From what I can tell the Pokemon at the alpine pasture also suffered the same situation."

Nurse Joy nodded as she tried her best to avoid outright crying. She didn't really care about the how it happened, just the why. Why their lives had to be destroyed, why she had to face the fact that her friends and likely everyone she knew was dead. Why that instead of going to Sinnoh with her sister she would count herself lucky if she made it to Blackthorn city.

"So if we can assume that this happened all at once, then I'd place good money on the idea that this was a planned event..." Dawson said explaining his logic to Joy. "If it was something that was limited to a region then my Pokemon wouldn't have gone crazy as well. I doubt its something limited to this valley otherwise we'd be seeing more chaos around the edge of it as Pokemon enter the area. It's unlikely to be a virus or some such since everyone went crazy at once instead of various times to account for infection."

"Y-You think someone planned this?" Joy asked in shock at the idea.

"Yes. Honestly I doubt it would be that hard. If Arceus is really as powerful as legends say then if someone capture him it would be easy to rewrite the very fabric of reality and change it to suit the need. Team Galactic is kinda crazy enough to try a plan like that... although I have no clue why they would want a situation like this."

"Team Galactic?" Joy inquired.

"Yeah, uniformed dress code, fetish for planets and stars, and wearers of the worst bowl cuts in history." Dawson replied rolling his eyes at the few times he dealt with them.

"They sound like our Team Rocket..." Joy said feeling slightly better as the conversation moved away from the current situation.

"Wait let me guess... All similar uniforms and a big hard on for rockets?" Dawson asked with a grin.

Joy smiled back slightly. "Well I'm not sure about the rockets but they all wear uniforms with a giant R in the center."

"Heh sounds like Team Galactic and team rocket are crazy of a feather..." Dawson said glad Joy wasn't close to crying anymore.

"So... where are you from?" Joy asked changing the subject suddenly.

"huh? Well..." Dawson reached over to his backpack and pulled out a map pointing to a mountainous region. "Here, it's called Oreburgh city. Nice place if you like coal and the mining of coal. I suppose there are also some fossils there but it's not like you hear about them over the towns love of coal... and coal related products. Did I mention they like Coal there?"

Joy smiled a little more as Dawson explained his town. "I take it you're exaggerating again?"

Dawson looked at Joy in mock shock. "I'm insulted Joy! You would assume I would lie about the core aspect of our town? It's not like you can dig up black rocks anywhere you know... oh wait you can. Well it's not like you can find a mine that works with Pokemon like ours... oh wait you can. Well it's not like we've organized our town around a single aspect that can be done anywhere and with anyone in any place at all!... oh wait we have."

At this Joy giggled slightly alongside several other small bouts of laughing as Dawson played up the part of defender and insulter of his home town. Hearing the other set of laughing the Trainer pointed to the children in their blankets.

"You kids should be sleeping!" He said in mock seriousness. "Go to bed you troublemakers!"

Joy smiled at Dawson's antics and his faked seriousness. She still worried about her sister but the little act Dawson put on helped her feel better. Stifling a yawn as best she could she began to feel the effects of the journey to the campsite finally persuading her to sleep.

"I think now is a good time to follow the kids lead and go to bed... Dawson..." her voice trailed off slightly with the next words. "... thank you."

"Welcome, hey before you go to bed." As he put away the map he reached further into his pack and pulled out his jacket. "It's no blanket but it's better then sleeping in just your nurse uniform."

Joy took the jacket and wrapped it around her. Larger than her the jacket was a loose fit but was surprisingly comfortable and warm. Joy was about to thank Dawson again when a movement caught their attention on the other side of the fire.

Gardevoir had stood at attention suddenly, a glowing purple aura surrounding her, her arms outstretched as four of the campground tables flew over to her and the children forming a barrier around them.

"Gar- OH SHIT!" Dawson shouted as a massive wall of dirt and sand blasted into the campsite.

The main fire was smothered almost instantly plunging the area into darkness. Dawson her Joy scream for a moment before it was cut off by coughing as she inhaled the dirt and dust that was flying everywhere. Dawson couldn't see anything and what he was able to hear was nothing but chaos around him.

Gardevoir and the children were the the best off, her impromptu barrier blocking a large portion of the dirt and dust protecting the children and herself but also cutting the Pokemon off from being able to contribute to the situation. If she could have spoken to Dawson she would have cried out a warning but without a form of communication she acted on her instinct to protect the children first. Unable to assist she did her best to keep them from panicking letting her calm mind ability seep out of her and into the kids.

Rapidash and Luxray both fired shots off into the darkness with no noticeable effect as the dust a sudden change in light blinded them almost completely. They also couldn't afford to hit their trainer or his companions either. Togekiss having chosen to rest in the branches of a tree was able to see down into the area without much issue however dust and dirt was all it could make out.

Getting his shirt over his mouth Dawson did his best to get out his order though the noise and dirt filled mouth.

"TOGEKISS, DEFOG. LUXRAY, FLASH."

Both orders were heard and followed through. Within moments the sand was blown away and the electric Pokemon had begun to emanate a soft yellow glow around its body. With the dust cleared Dawson was tensed up waiting for the follow up to the sand attack only for it not to happen. The campsite was clear and quiet without any sign of the attackers.

Gardevoir lifted up the table shield she had been using to protect the children, her ability to sense the feelings of other Pokemon signaling to her the groups attackers had gone. Luxray began shaking off its fur trying to get as much of the dust out before anything else happened. Rapidash shook it's fiery mane and walked over to the campfire relighting it without Dawson needing to order it so.

"What... the heck, was that?" Dawson asked brushing himself off. "Kids you guys OK?"

"Yeah I think everyone is OK Mr. Dawson" Marcus said looking at his friends as they huddled around Gardevoir.

"Seemed like my Pokemon are fine, Joy you alright...?" Silence was the only response Dawson got. "Joy, Hey Joy!"

Looking around Dawson began to feel the grip of fear as he searched for the Pokemon nurse. By this point the fire was burning again and he could see the area clearly. All Dawson could see were signs of someone being dragged off into the darkness.

"Ohshit..."

Marcus, hearing the trainer swear walked, over and looked around, "Mr. Dawson... wheres nurse Joy?" He asked looking for the Pokemon nurse.

"Whatever attacked us took her..." Dawson replied in his usual blunt manner.

"Then why aren't you going to save her!?" Marcus said looking at the trainer.

"I will kid!" Dawson shouted looking at the boy. "But right now I have to make sure that I can leave you alone here with the others. You need to keep the group near the fire Marcus, I'm leaving you in charge of the kids. Gardevoir! You're in charge of the Pokemon while I go get Joy."

Marcus nodded with pride at being left in charge. Most adults never would have even considered giving him any responsibility and he wasn't about to screw up the first time one did. Gardevoir simply closed her eyes and began using future sight to avoid any other surprise attacks.

"Rapidash, Luxray you two are with me!" Climbing on the back of the fire Pokemon Dawson turned once more to Marcus. "Remember, Don't let anyone wander away from the fire and try to get the rest of the kids to sleep while I bring her back Marcus."

With that Dawson gave Rapidash a kick and the group headed off into the darkness of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Pokemon belongs to who ever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. If you ever wanted to see what an AK-47 could do to your favorite Pikachu, this is the universe to see it!

August 17th

Johto Mountains

It was late at night in the forest near the town of Agricola. Many Pokemon were sleeping in what safe places they had made their homes in. Any that were out now chose to move to a new location as dozens of shadowy forms slipped though the underbrush. In the midst of this pack of wild Pokemon a single human was being carried by two of the Mightyena, her arms held in their jaws as they pulled her alongside the pack.

The dark type Pokemon knew this area inside and out. The best spots for ambushes, the quickest paths, and the areas best left avoided. The night also played to their strength as they're coats made for natural camouflage in the forest. Even so they proceeded carefully, they had to go slowly as to not damage the human and dragging her made more noise then they were comfortable with.

Many of the pack had almost given up hope on securing a Pokemon nurse as most of the town they lived near died when the grass Pokemon released their spores a day ago. Even when they had found her, she was surrounded by powerful Pokemon making any sort of forceful attack futile. Even so their pack leaders orders had been adamant. Luck was on their side however as they pulled off the snatch and grab without a hitch. They hoped that it would hold until they reached their home.

Nurse Joy didn't know how long she had been dragged around for. To her mind it only seemed like a few minutes since she was at the campgrounds with Dawson talking. To her body, more accurately the bruises, cuts, and scrapes it endured being dragged, it seemed like hours had passed. The Mightyena's jaws held her firmly, the sharp teeth digging into her arms as she was dragged along.

The lower part of her uniform was shredded to bits, her dress and apron now just scraps of cloth, her blouse was thankfully spared as she was still wearing Dawson's jacket. The jacket being a tough cloth saved Joy some pain in her arms and body as it's padding absorbed the blows and jaws of the Pokemon. At one point one of her hair braids had caught on a branch and the clip she used to hold up her hair was painfully pulled out as the Mightyena continued on with little regard.

Joy couldn't see very well as the Pokemon pulled her though the night. The sand attack that had caused so much chaos had nearly blinded her and she wasn't able to get the dirt out of her eyes before the Pokemon's jaws snapped down on her arms and forced her to the ground. The Mightyena at first pulled with so much force she thought her arms would get torn off. Gradually the strain they put on her arms lessened but at that point she had been blinded, covered in sand and dirt, kidnapped, and dragged throughout the forest till she had no idea where she was. All she knew was that she didn't care at all when the Mightyena finally let her arms go and dropped her to the ground.

Laying there Joy kept her eyes closed her mind having a personal debate about wither or not to open them to see why they had stopped. She did her best to slide her hands to her eyes clearing them as much as possible. Once most of the dirt and sand was wiped away she looked up at the area around her.

She was in a cave as far as she could tell. It was dark but Joy had been surrounded by darkness long enough for her eyes to adjust to the little moon light that shown through. Large and expansive it was just bright enough that the inside could be distinguished fairly clearly. From what Joy could see there was also several tunnels further inside the cave that lead off into darkness.

Surrounding her on all sides was what looked like the entire pack of Mightyena. All of them standing as still as statues while Joy attempted to stand without causing her wounds to hurt too much. Once standing she almost fell right back down when the entire pack simultaneously let out a long howl that reverberated across the cave amplifying and intensifying their cry.

It was a moment before Joy realized that a single Mightyena, perched atop a rock that allowed it to stand above the other Pokemon, was not taking part in the cry. It had its eyes fixed on the Pokemon nurse as it approached Joy began to realize this was the pack leader. The Mightyena looked larger and older then the others, it's fur ragged and worn, the pack leader carried numerous scars over it's body all of them earned before the Pokemon changed a few days ago.

As the pack leader approached Joy took a step back nervously, her actions earning her a low growl from the Mightyena. Her heart beating hard enough to be felt across her body she trembled as the Pokemon approached her. As it neared it began to circle around the Pokemon nurse sniffing her before finally coming to a stop in front of her.

Fixing her with the cold stare the pack leader pointed its head to one of the caves further inside the chamber. Around her the Mightyena pack shifted around and an opening between them formed towards the same tunnel. Joy looked about nervously as she tried to wrap her head around why they didn't just eat her.

To the pack leader her indecision wasn't something he was going to wait for as he let out a soft growl followed by a bark, startling the Nurse into movement. Walking forwards Joy felt her hands rise to her chest as she tried to calm herself down unsure of what she was walking into. Her heart refused and doubled it's pounding when she realized the pack leader was following her into the tunnel.

Dawson sighed as he rode on his Rapidash though the night. The two were following his Luxray as it headed though the night in what Dawson hoped was Joy's direction. He couldn't see much since his Rapidash's flames lit up the area immediately around him making seeing any distance difficult. Dawson was also trusting his Luxray to be able to follow the sent. There were other Pokemon better at tracking but Luxray's vision compensated for it's sub par abilities.

"Please be alright Joy..." The trainer muttered to himself as they continued after Luxray.

* * *

><p>Joy kneeled down within the depths of the Mightyena caves in front of her lay over a dozen Poochyena a several Mightyena. Apparently the pack had stolen several blankets from the town and most of the Pokemon were laying on them as Joy looked them over. Almost all of them were sick in some way, mostly due to Stun spore affecting their breathing but several had stings that were swelling and healing badly.<p>

Joy moved from one to another making mental notes about how sick each one was. Trying her best to remain optimistic she knew that at least three Poochyena and one of the female Mightyena were too badly injured to save. One of the small pup Pokemon had already died due to a very nasty Venomoth bite that had apparently drained the blood out of the poor pup.

The Mightyena's pack leader watched as Joy examined each one in turn. He remained still save for a small wimpier when she examined both a single Poochyena and female Mightyena. He had seen personally how each and every one of the sick Pokemon got here. The Pack leader blamed himself since two days ago when everything changed and even a simple sting seemed like it could kill a healthy Mightyena.

"You... you want me to treat your pack?" Joy asked nervously, a single nod her reply.

"I need... I need my supplies to do anything... do you understand?" She asked standing up in front of the Mightyena. "I can't fix them without it."

Joy wasn't sure if the Mightyena's leader understood her as he flattened his ears and started to growl.

"You need to let me go." She said as the growling intensified. "I... I can't treat them without my medical bag!"

The Mightyena's growling deepened before it started to bark at her words. The pack leader couldn't fully understand what she was saying. It knew that she was the packs only chance to save it's wounded.

"I need my things!" Joy shouted in a panic. "I can't help them if you don't let me get them! I can't do anything now, you need to let me go-AHH!"

Her shouts were cut off when the Mightyena lunged at her biting down on her leg. Crying out in pain Joy felt her leg give out underneath her as the Pokemon's jaws cut into her and threw off her balance. Smashing into the ground Joy cried in pain as the pack leader released her now bleeding leg and started barking at her again.

Joy held her bleeding leg as the Mightyena continued to bark at her. She cried as her fear mixed with pain from the wound. All she could do in the face of the pack leader was hold onto her wound and stop the bleeding as best she could. For a moment it even looked like the pack leader was going to bite her again before his ears picked up a sound from outside, a sound even Joy heard, a rumble of thunder that echoed throughout the cave followed by the sounds of combat.

The pack leader bolted back though the cave towards the entrance in an instant leaving Joy with the sick Pokemon. She did her best to catch her breath as the sounds intensified and she was able to make out a voice in all of the chaos. Dawson's shouting began to filter though the echoes as he let out orders to his Pokemon. Joy franticly began tearing at what was left of his Jacket to form a bandage around her leg as she worked as fast as she could to hopefully be in time to stop a slaughter .

* * *

><p>"Rapidash keep inferno at our sides and moving forwards, we have to get into that cave! Luxray charge, and if any get past the flame wall hit them with Thunder fang!"<p>

Dawson was riding his Rapidash as two walls of fire formed a barrier between the small party and any of the Mightyena. Any of the Pokemon foolish enough to try to get past it was blown back and badly burned while the few that did either fled right back or was put out of their burning misery by Luxray's electric charged fangs.

The attack was simple enough, smash into them like a Zubat out of hell and split they're group down the center. Then with the Mightyena's lines thrown into confusion rush the cave entrance and block it with the fire from Rapidash. So far the plan had gone off without a hitch, Dawson had worried at first that the giant fire steed might have given away their attack but Rapidash had proved her speed yet again as they were on the pack of Pokemon before they even realized what was charging them.

What little resistance the Mightyena put up was blown aside as the group continued it's forward momentum into the spacious caves. Once inside Dawson climbed off Rapidash and let the fire Pokemon direct the blaze walls towards the entrance cutting off any of the pack from getting in through the front door.

He was about to order Luxray to find Joy when a furry form jumped out of the shadows and nearly bit the trainer's head off. Mightyena surged though the tunnels to surround the group their blaze wall suddenly shifting from keeping the pack of Pokemon out to keeping the trainer and his Pokemon inside.

"Tch... must have tunnels interconnected throughout this entire area..."

Dawson said as the pack of Mightyena closed in around him and Luxray, Rapidash being occupied keeping the fire wall up.

"They say no plan ever survives combat." Dawson said reaching around behind him to his waist.

Pulling out his Poke ball Dawson tossed it into the air. With a flash of light he released his Gyarados from it's Poke ball. With a roar that shook stones loose from the ceiling of the cave all the Mightyena's attention was drawn to the massive serpent.

A tense moment passed as Gyarados eyed the Mightyena and they eyed Gyarados. The serpent Pokemon had been at the ready as soon as the attack was launched. His stomach had been empty for far too long and as soon as one of the dark Pokemon advanced nervously on him his head launched fowards at the terrified Mightyena. With a snap of his jaws Gyarados bit down on the Pokemon with a sickening crunch. With a single chew he swallowed the Mightyena with a gulp before eyeing the rest with hunger in his eyes.

The new Pokemon changed the entire situation for the Mightyena. Before they could feasibly take down the blue Pokemon, his trainer, and the Rapidash however with a live, and apparently hungry, Gyarados before them they knew they could only die if they fought them. The pack braced itself for combat, it was a fight they would likely die in but they would not let this trainer take back the Nurse Joy without one.

Before any combat initiated a long howl filled the cave. It's sound reverberated and echoed across the cavern and the Mightyena's ears picked up as they listened. As soon as the howl finished the pack bolted without a word. Diving into tunnels and around corners the dark Pokemon slipped away like smoke.

"Umm... OK... I guess bringing out Gyarados was more intimidating then I had expected." Dawson said as he relaxed from the battle and standoff. "Gyarados, Rapidash keep this entrance clear. Luxray and I will head into the cavern and find Joy." The trainer looked to his blue companion. "Luxray, Flash!"

Both Gyarados and Rapidash nodded as Dawson followed Luxray into one of the tunnels. The electric Pokemon was giving off a glow as the two proceeded further into the tunnels. Their pace slowed as they expected an ambush at any moment.

Joy grimaced as she tightened the jacket bandage on her leg. She had stopped and sat on a nearby rock to tighten the cloth. A small cry escaped her lips as pain shot though her leg from the bite wound. The bandage had managed to staunch the bleeding but it wasn't designed to be used this way and kept loosening up every couple of steps.

Joy closed her eyes while she collected herself in the darkness. The bandage loosening, the darkness around her, and the uneven terrain made her progress through the caves at best a crawl. What worried her now wasn't her speed but the sounds of battle slowly having died off little while ago. She wanted to try to stop the fight but now could only hope she wasn't hopelessly lost in the caves.

As she opened her eyes she noticed that she could actually see the ground instead of just a dark blur. Looking up she was blinded as a bright form walked around the corner, it's light shocking her darkness adjusted eyes. Putting a hand up to her eyes to block the light relief flooded though her as she hear the familiar sound of Dawson's voice.

"JOY!"

Before she could respond, or even see Dawson, he was next to her looking her over. She could see Luxray lowering the glow of light from his body which allowed her to see what was going on around her. She tried to get the trainers attention but was drowned out as Dawson looked over her injuries

"Jeeze your covered in cuts, you look like you've been hit by a car... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LEG!?" He said noticing the large wound on her leg.

"Dawson-"

"Those damn dogs... I'm going to beat them to a pulp myself!" He said looking back down the path he came.

"Dawson-"

"Can you walk? We need to get out of here as quickly as possible to get you to Gardevoir, she can use heal pulse to-" He was finally cut off as Joy screamed his name at the top of her lungs.

"DAWSON!" She shouted.

"Wha- sorry..." he replied sheepishly.

"Dawson I can't leave yet... I need you to get to my medical bag and bring it here." Joy said pushing the trainer away and trying to stand.

"What? No! We have to get you back to the camp to take care of your-" He never finished as Joy interrupted him.

"DAWSON LISTEN TO ME!" Joy snapped at him. "There are a sick Pokemon in here... I need my medical bag to help them. That's why they they took me."

"Wait let me get this straight..." Dawson said staring at her aghast. "The Pokemon that attacked us, kidnapped you, dragged you here against your will, and apparently hurt you severely... you want to take care of them?"

"Yes Dawson... I WILL take care of them." Joy said fixing him with an icy glare as she grabbed his arm and pulled herself up as best she could. "It's my duty as a Pokemon nurse and it will take more then this to make me not do everything in my power to save Pokemon! Now shut up and get my bag!"

Dawson stared slack jawed at her for several moments before sighing and rubbing his temple fighting back a headache. "Joy... you know it's the same reason I came to save you that's making my life difficult right now."

Helping her along he carried her back to the sick Mightyena and Poochyena. Setting Joy down gently Dawson paused nervously at the idea of leaving Joy behind before he followed Luxray as it made it's way though the tunnels back out to the main cave entrance. Returning Gyarados to it's Poke ball he climbed on Rapidash and looked back at his electric Pokemon.

"Luxray, head back to Joy and keep her safe. Me and Rapidash will be back soon with her bag..." He said.

Nodding Luxray watched as her trainer rode off into the night back to the campsite before dashing back into the tunnels. Without a single second wasted she turned and bolted back into the cave. The Mightyena watched apprehensively but allowed her to pass.

* * *

><p>The fire was burning brightly as the Furret approached the campgrounds. It skillfully jumped from one flickering shadow to the next. Closing in on the fire it stealthily worked it's way around the ring of logs towards its prey. Inches away it sniffed twice it's mouth salivating at the feast it would have. With a leap it's jaws opened and bit down on the bag hanging off of Dawson's backpack. It's prize in it's mouth the Furret was about to turn and runaway with the trainers bag of mixed berries when a voice shouted out an order.<p>

"Pidgy use Pluck, then wing attack!" Shouted Marcus as the rest of the children watched the battle unfold.

The Pidgy swooped in from where it was watching the Furret in the trees and snatched away the bag of berries before following up with a a rapid flapping of it's wings smacking about the thief upside it's head. Getting knocked back the Furret righted itself and hissed as best as it could manage. It's meal for the night stolen by this bird Pokemon it raised it's back and readied itself for a battle. With a burst of speed it launched itself at the bird Pokemon.

"Pidgy use gust!" Marcus commanded.

With a flapping of small wings the Furret was launched backwards but the force of the wind. Smacking into a nearby tree it bounced off the wood and landed in a heap. Disoriented and hurt it couldn't do anything to the round white and red Poke ball that was thrown at it. In a flash of light it was absorbed into the Poke ball. Several tense seconds passed as the ball pinged it's capture beacon before finally growing silent.

With another few second passing as everyone watched the still ball the silence was shattered by the sound of a half dozen children cheering. Marcus found himself in the center of the group of kids as they all happily congratulated him for capturing his second Pokemon. Breaking away Marcus ran to the Poke ball and picked it up brining it over to Gardevoir and showing it to the psychic Pokemon.

"Look, Look I caught one!" He said elated at his accomplishment.

Gardevoir smiled and nodded her approval to the young trainer. She had known about the Furret trying to steal the berries Dawson carried with him. Instead of just shooing it away with it's powers she figured it made for an excellent experiment to see how the old rules applied to the new world.

Readying herself she watched as Marcus released the Furret from it's Poke ball. The Pokemon was stuned and looked about with frantic eyes eventually seeing Marcus and holding onto a ball that was imprinted into it's mind as it's own. Hissing again the Furret backed away to the edge of the campsite watching the group of children and Pokemon with angry eyes. It would have just fled outright if it wasn't for it's body still reeling from the gust attack a few seconds ago.

Marcus watched the hostile Furret with sadness in his eyes. His Pidgy was the first Pokemon caught and was almost immediately friends with him. This Furret seemed to look at him with eyes filled with anger. Taking a step forwards, telling the others to stay back, he reached out to the Furret a hand and waited.

The Furret backed away again as Marcus approached. It's hiss intensified when he got close and when the young boy put forward his hand the Pokemon lunged forwards biting down on the offered appendage. It held the young boy's hand in it's jaw in a vice grip, drawing blood from the wound. Expecting some sort of retaliation the Furret only found Marcus looking at him with slightly winced eyes. Reaching behind him he pulled out a berry from the bag and offered it to the Pokemon.

For a brief moment trainer and Pokemon met eyes and stared deeply into each others. Quickly the Furret released it's grip on the young boy's hand. In the next moment it dashed for the offered treat and snatched it away from Marcus. Scrambling to the edge of the clearing the Furret ducked behind a tree and started eating the berry. Occasionally it would look back towards the campfire to see if any other berries were offered.

Gardevoir had almost crushed the small Pokemon when it bit down on Marcus's hand. It took every ounce of willpower to prevent herself from doing so. If she had it would have made the entire experiment she set up go to waste. As Marcus walked over he offered his hand to her and Gardevoir let her heal pulse tend to the wound, thankfully it was only a small bite. She didn't know if the Furret would ever accept Marcus as it's trainer but from what she saw it was a first step. Looking up suddenly she watched the shadows on the other side of the camp expectantly as the form of a Rapidash grew in the distance.

Dawson rode into the campground on his Rapidash his sudden arrival distracting the kids from Marcus's capture of the Furret. Crowding around him as he dismounted they all asked the same question in multiple voices. Dawson didn't response at first as he pushed passed them and picked up Joy's medical pack and slinging it over his shoulders.

"Don't worry Joy is alive." He said without looking at them. "We'll be a bit longer before we're back... MARCUS!" The boy jumped at his name the Furret still hiding at the tree let out a soft hiss at Dawson's shouting. "I thought I told you to get everyone back to bed!"

"I... umm... sorry Mr. Dawson..." Marcus mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Well it's your lucky day, you get a second chance this time... get everyone to bed before we get back." Dawson said over the sound of the children's whines.

"Yes sir." The boy replied

With that Dawson climbed back on his Rapidash and rode the Pokemon back into the night. Marcus looked back at the Furret hideing in the distance and left another berry out in the open. Standing up and turning to his friends he clapped his hand and got their attention.

"Alright you heard Mr. Dawson, let's get to bed everyone." He said as the sound of whining filled the campsite again.

The ride back for Dawson passed in silence and quickness as he and his Rapidash raced to get back to nurse Joy. The caves were thankfully not too far on the back of his Pokemon and his Poketch allowed him to find his way without much issue after being there once. What worried him was the lack of any of the Mightyena. As he rode he occasionally noticed movement at the edge of the light produce by Rapidash's fire and he was sure it was them stalking him.

Once they made it to the cave Dawson was surprised to find many of the Mightyena watching him from the outcropping of rocks. As the two of them entered he saw a single Mightyena waiting for him. It bore the scars of many years of life and Dawson could only assume this was the pack leader.

The Mightyena turned and headed to one of the tunnel entrances. At the mouth of the tunnel it turned and waited for Dawson to follow. Climbing off his Rapidash Dawson couldn't help but feel like a lamb being led to slaughter. In the main entrance of the cave there was enough room to use Gyarados but in the tunnels it be impossible to summon him. Dawson would not put it past the Mightyena to know this and exploit it.

As much as he suspected the ambush no attack came as the trainer and the two Pokemon eventually made their way to nurse Joy and the sick Mightyena and Poochyena. Walking over Dawson handed over the bag to the Pokemon Nurse and she started pulling out medicine and placing it around her. Walking over to a nearby rock Dawson sat down and waited as she began her treatment of the Mightyena and Poochyena.

The night had dragged on for several more hours as Joy finally finished treating the last of the Pokemon. From Stun spore poisoning to various damage from Pokemon attacks she had worked herself to the bone to make sure each one received attention and was treated properly. Several times she had nearly passed out from a combination of exhaustion and fatigue only staying awake through sheer force of will. Having her leg constantly throbbing in pain and sending waves of agony though her body anytime she tired to move didn't help her much either. Wiping the sweat from her brow she sighed and looked to Dawson.

The trainer had spent most of the time staring at the Mightyena's leader. His cold gaze explaining exactly how he felt towards the Pokemon. Meanwhile the pack leader stared right back at Dawson. His cold gaze explaining exactly how he felt towards the trainer.

"I'm... I'm ready to head back to the camp." She said quietly.

Without a word Dawson walked over and packed her bag. After getting her supplies in order and putting the backpack on he got on his knees in front of Joy. Slowly and gently he lifted her up, moving twice as carefully when he heard her gasp in pain, and placed her on Rapidash. With that Dawson, Rapidash, Luxray, and Nurse Joy headed for the exit. Looking back at the sick Pokemon Dawson watched as the pack leader walked amongst the treated Pokemon checking each in turn. After the last one it looked up at Dawson and their eyes met for a moment. With a single nod of thanks the Mightyena went back to checking on the sick members of his pack.

As the group left the caves Dawson looked up at Joy as she rode Rapidash next to him. She had fallen forwards her body resting on the neck of the fire Pokemon. Dawson knew Rapiash would keep it's flames from burning the Pokemon Nurse. He, however, didn't like how Nurse Joy looked as she rested on Rapidash. Her face was pale and she was clearly sweating in addition to all the various small wounds she had suffered the large gash on her leg certainly didn't look good. It wasn't bleeding but Dawson wanted get back to the camp as quickly as possible.

Walking as they were it took a little while before they made it back to the campsite. During the journey Joy had fallen asleep on the back of Rapiash and Dawson had to spend his time holding her steady so she didn't fall. As they approached they were met by Gardevoir who was waiting for them.

With the soft glow of her psychic powers she gently lifted Joy off the Rapidash and onto the ground where Dawson had laid out a small bed of his spare clothes. Slowly and tentatively Dawson removed the bandage around her leg and saw just how bad the bite wound was. Grimacing he looked to his Psychic Pokemon who was already at work. Hovering over the Pokemon nurse Gardevoir let the soft pink glow of her heal pulse light the area around her body.

The pink aura of the healing power slowly grew and ebbed like a heartbeat as Gardevoir moved her hands slowly over Joy's body starting at her bitten leg. Each time during one of the aura's pulse some of the light flowed off and onto the Pokemon nurse. As the glow floated down onto Joy the wounds Gardevoir pointed to began to slowly close and seal themselves.

Almost fifteen minutes later Gardevoir finished her treatment of Joy. Sighing from relief Dawson leaned back against a log. Nodding his approval to Gardevoir he let the psychic Pokemon float back over to the children who, thankfully, were actually asleep this time. Jumping slightly as he felt something tug his shirt Dawson looked down at Joy to find her ooking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Dawson... I ruined your coat... sorry." She said softly before closing her eyes again as exhaustion took her.

"I didn't need it anyways..." He replied in a whisper while taking her hand in his and placing it next to her on the bed of spare clothes.

Sighing Dawson sat back against the log and looked skywards. Taking in a deep breath he let it out a few seconds later and felt his body relax for the first time since the Mightyena's attack. Closing his eyes he finally let sleep take him.


	7. Chapter 7

Pokemon belongs to who ever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. This is the place for all you people who want to mesh Warhammer 40K with Pokemon... I HOPE YOUR HAPPY!

August 18th

Johto Mountains

The town of Agricola was an idealistic place in the Johto mountains. No more then two dozen homes and businesses made up the center of the village with small outlying farmsteads. The homes forming a cross in the center of the town its main road leading off in the four cardinal directions much like the alpine pastures above. A single Pokemon center and Poke mart also made up the small amount of homes and buildings of the town. The entire area was surrounded by forests and hills in all directions giving it a quaint look as well making it very remote. Dawson would have enjoyed spending a day or two in the village if it wasn't currently covered in at least a foot of soggy yellow stun spore.

The rain hadn't quite made it to the town yet but it had been drizzling for at least several hours. Dawson and Joy had woken up damp and wet with the Pokemon nurse having the worst of it. The tattered remains of her clothes offered little in the way of protection from the weather. Borrowing some of Dawson's apparel her current outfit was ill suited for the nurse as she had to constantly adjust the pants to avoid them slipping down and giving Dawson a show. She was currently doing just that as Dawson examined the town from the attic of one of the outlining windmills the farmers used.

He had borrowed Joy's telescope again and was scanning the yellow stun spore covered town while the sails on the mill turned slowly. The rain combined with the yellow spores made for a muddy mess that Joy and Dawson already had to walk though just to get to their current vantage point. On the plus side it meant they didn't have to dress in heavy layers and their extra clothes were currently piled near the door on the first floor. Dawson was somewhat amazed at the sheer volume of spores, however, as he was actually able to follow the path the Pokemon had taken up the mountain as it stained the normally green leaves a yellow hue.

"Do you see anything Dawson?" She asked adjusting the borrowed pants and tried to fix her somewhat disheveled hair.

A task proving difficult as she only had one hair clip the second one lost somewhere in the woods. The entire day seemed, to the Pokemon nurse, out to outdo last nights trauma by making it as uncomfortable as possible for her. Matters weren't helped by having her questions regarding her friends and sister avoided by the trainer.

She hoped that they could get to the town, and more importantly the Pokemon center, so she could see if her sister survived and get another uniform to wear. They had left the campsite in the early morning leaving the sleeping children in the care of Pokemon. The trip down to the town was almost insufferable as the pants waist was larger then hers and the shirt she had borrowed was constantly catching on branches as it was a couple of sizes too large.

"No human movement, although its hard to tell with this wimpy telescope. Quite a few Murkrow though. To the point that I wished I had brought Luxray instead of Torterra." Dawson replied sliding closed the small telescope and handing it back to Joy before looking back out at the town. "Well no crying over spilled Miltanks, I'm sure if push came to shove Togekiss could deal with most of them. We should head to the Pokemon center fir-huh?" Dawson was interrupted by the feeling of the back of his shirt being lifted up and small fingers poking around his spine. "Uh, Joy, what are you doing?"

"Quiet you, you've been running around for a whole day now without letting me check your spine after that hit." Joy said as she tenderly poked a few areas around his semi bruised back. "We can spare a few minutes before heading into the town for a checkup."

"I'm not going to be able to argue this with you am I?" Dawson asked sighing before leaning forwards on the windowsill to let Joy examine him.

"No, now stop being a big baby and tell me if this hurts..." She said gently pressing various parts of Dawson's back.

"No it doesn't hurt you personal space invader." The trainer said with an exasperated tone.

"And don't think I've forgotten about your hand either." Joy replied with a bit of irritation in her voice at his complaining.

As promised both Dawson and Joy left the windmill after only a few minutes. Joy reached for the clothes to carry them only for the Pokemon trainer to signal her not to. He had found something worth salvaging already and knew they would be back for it later so it was better to make the journey into town as light as possible.

The trip in was quiet for the most part, the most part being the Murkrows launching themselves into the air at the presence of the two humans, which somewhat unnerved Joy and Dawson as they continued though the desolate place. Dawson took the lead as they headed towards the town makeing a trail in the muck as Joy was having enough trouble with her borrowed pants. Following along his footprints created in the stun spore mess that covered the town was easier then walking alongside and makeing her own trail. Each step was like walking though inches of mud as the wet spores began to cling to the shoes of both the trainer and nurse.

Going cautiously and keeping a weary eye out for the Murkrows overhead the two made it to the Pokemon center quickly and quietly. It was when they got to the center that their progress hit a snag. All around the center the stun spore muck grew lumpy and uneven slowing their progress even more.

"Damn what is this crap?" Dawson said as he tried to get firmer footing on the lumpy ground.

Sliding his boot over one of the lumps several times he finally made out what it was causing the uneven ground. Officer Jenny's uniform was distinct even with the yellow spores dying it in their colors. With a few more sweeps of his foot clearing away the wet paralysis agent he could see her face.

Her eyes open in a shocked expression most likely her death being somewhat unimaginable to her. Reaching forwards Dawson slid the Pokemon police officer's eyelids closed. Looking around he saw the uneven terrain was caused by the residents of the town all desperately trying to reach the Pokemon center.

"Dawson... what is- Oh Arceus, Jenny!" Joy cried finally catching up to Dawson. "No..."

"Joy, come on, let's at least get inside the center. Maybe someone survived in there." Dawson said resuming his walk towards the center.

As soon as he reached the doors he could tell there was likely no one inside. The glass door was shattered its shards likely buried under the stun spore. Stepping though he could see several people laying motionless inside as his soggy footsteps the only noise being made. The lights were still thankfully on as his eyes adjusted to the inside of the room.

Several townsfolk had apparently broken though the glass in a panic from what Dawson could tell of the people laying on the floor. Their actions probably caused many of the people outside to die as they all tried rushing the door and ended up just clogging around the broken glass entranceway. Those inside didn't fare much better as the inside of the center was filled with spores abet at a much slower pace since the entire place was ventilated from the outside effectively drawing in the spores and ensuring the center offered no protection at all.

Stepping forwards Dawson noted that the stun spore was still dry indoors as his footsteps kicked up the dust slightly as he walked in. The inside was quite spacious as the hallway led to the center's main desk where all the Pokemon would be initially taken and treated. The desk was followed by three doors all leading to areas of the Pokemon center. Dawson surmised from previous center's he had stayed at that, of the three doors, one led to the living quarters for the trainers, one led to the back offices and treatment center of the resident Nurse Joy, and the last one leading to the diner where the trainers ate.

Walking up to the desk Dawson was relived to find that there wasn't a body of a Nurse joy anywhere area the main lobby. Stepping around the desk he sat down in the chair and picked up the remote for the television built into the wall. Powering it on he was greeted with nothing but static.

"Dawson... I'm going into the offices to get a change of clothes." Joy said as she approached the table after climbing though the broken glass door.

"Yeah go ahead I want to see if the playback has anything on this TV" Dawson replied as he began fiddle with the remote.

Stepping in back, and closing the door behind her to make sure Dawson didn't peek, Joy headed to the closet where the spare uniforms were stored. The room was small as it was only intended for one Joy. It was also more akin to a bedroom then an office as it contained a small fold out cot in the corner near some filing cabinets. That with the closet and a table big enough for the cot to be place on made the already small room downright tiny. It was mostly used as a rest area for when an emergency cropped up and the Pokemon Nurse's would have to spend the night taking care of Pokemon. Most Joy's had their own homes within the town and would spend their nights there when one of their sisters took over their shift.

Joy quickly changed out of the lose pants and shirt folding them and leaving the garments on the table as she opened the closet. Inside there were various uniforms hung up and awaiting use. Since she knew she was going to be traveling to Blackthorn with Dawson she chose the slightly more practical uniform. A comfortable pink T-shirt along with denim pants which she threw over a azure nurse apron. The uniform was designed for more remote and inhospitable places as both the shirt and pants were made of much stronger material then the standard pink blouse most Joy's wore. Finally she let her hair fall to her shoulders and formed it into a braided ponytail behind her.

"The benefits of having identical twins I guess." Joy mumbled to herself as she changed, the worry of something not fitting barely even concerning her.

Meanwhile Dawson had finally found a playback option and was watching the last news broadcast from yesterday. As it continued the sinking feeling he got in his gut returned as he watched the broadcast turn from a news episode to a grim survivor's tale as the reporter and her camera man struggled to survive and avoid the attention of Raikou and his apparent minions the Crawdaunt and Corphish.

Dawson watched with such rapt attention that he never even noticed Joy walk up behind him. Covering her mouth in shock she stood aghast at the horror being recorded. Eventually it all came to ahead as the two ran down an ally that had no exit. As the two realized they couldn't escape the reporter pulled the camera to her and stood as straight as she could before addressing the camera.

"To anyone who hears this listen to me. Goldenrod city is under attack. Raikou and an army of water Pokemon are destroying the city! Somehow... some way... Pokemon attacks can kill! Hundreds are dying and thousands are dead right now and more will follow by the end of the night. I.. I know we won't survive this night but everyone has to know." From behind several of the Crawdaunt and Corphish had begun to advance into the alleyway.

It was only a few moments but as Dawson and Joy watched it felt like each and every second dragged on for minutes. As the Crawdaunt advanced on the two the recorder tossed his camera aside and rushed to the reporter holding a steel bar. He lunged at the water Pokemon only to be cut down by a rush of bright stars indicating a brutal swift attack. Each one cutting into him and then exploding sending bloody chunks everywhere. The reporter had it no better as a single Crawdaunt launched forwards grasping her with it's claw and cutting her in half with a sickening squelch.

After the deaths of the reporter and camera man the tape simply recorded what happened to their bodies for a few more moments before it was cut off by static. Leaning back in the chair Dawson slid a hand though his hair and let out a breath he unconsciously had been holding in. He had eventually put his elbow on the desk and rested his head in his hand while his mind fathomed the implications of the video they just saw.

Joy's reaction was far from Dawson's quiet contemplation. She had attempted to step backwards only to bump into the desk and nearly fall from the sudden contact. Using her hands she lowered herself to a kneeling position while she found her self gasping for breath as her mind went into a full state of panic trying to grasp the magnitude of what she saw.

Dawson was the first to recover as he looked to Joy. "Come on we need to get to searching this place..." He said standing up and holding out a hand to help the Nurse up.

"Search this place? DIDN'T YOU SEE THAT!? THE WHOLE WORLD IS LIKE THIS, EVERYONE EVERYWHERE FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES!" Joy said breaking into a yell at Dawson's callousness.

"Yeah I saw it... But I'm not worried about the world right now. I'm currently worried about the kids back at the camp and the Pokemon nurse who apparently is having a panic attack." Dawson replied calmly as he knelt next to her and helped the distraught nurse to her feet.

"But..." Joy paused as best she could and forced herself to take several deep breaths. "But the whole world is... If Pokemon can attack and kill people across the world..."

"Then it's likely the human race is on a collision course with extinction, I know Joy." Dawson said doing his best to steady his companion.

"How... HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS!?" Joy said slipping into another panic attack.

Dawson sighed and looked at her. "Because if you recall I've been coming to grips with the idea that this was what happened from the beginning. Remember I'm weird like that. It's also not the first time I've seen a town destroyed." He said moving the two of them towards one of the doors. "But right now knowing the world has... changed... doesn't affect us or our plans. If there is a safe place somewhere-" Dawson pushed open the door to the next room. "-we still need to get there... and-"

Dawson never got a chance to finish as both he and Joy walked into the Pokemon treatment room and were greeted with the sight of Joy's sister laying on the floor curled up in a fetal position. Still in her uniform she was covered in a thin layer of the spores like everything else in the room. Both trainer and nurse stood still for a moment at the sight letting the room fall silent as the door closed behind them.

"S- Sis?" Joy said quietly.

Taking a step forwards she called out again. "Sis... P- Please... your just... your just resting right?" Joy slowly knelt next to the body of her sister, reaching a hand to her shoulder and slowly turning her still form to face the two. "Oh... Oh no..." Her sisters glazed eyes met her and Joy knew she was dead.

Tears formed in Joy's eyes as she knelt down next to her sister. The idea of the world being like this and her sister dead right in front of her was too much for the Pokemon nurse to handle. Pulling her hand away from her sister's body she wrapped them around herself as she felt a chill go though her entire body. Joy started to cry openly while she sat on the floor managing to make out words though her sobs to Dawson.

"Why... why Dawson... why did this happen?" Her sobs continued as she leaned forwards trying to withdraw within herself. "Who would want this? Why would they want this? What could they possibly hope to gain by this? My sisters... My sisters, my cousins and my family are all dead and for no reason at all!"

Dawson sighed as he listened to Joy cry on the floor "Joy..." He closed his eyes and carefully picked out the next few words. "I don't have the answers to your questions." He said walking around the two. "I don't know why it happened or what anyone could hope to gain by this or would desire it." He pulled from a nearby desk a small piece of paper and began making a few folds in it. "The only think I know is that your family isn't all dead. Your here and your alive. If your sister's are even half the woman you are then they'll survive as well. I can't truly believe that they're all going to make it though this, but I assure you that you're not the only nurse Joy left." He finished folding the paper and picked up a white towel from nearby and walked back over to the distraught nurse. "If you can survive so can they."

Reaching over he handed her what he had been folding. A simple origami flower made from the a spare sheet of nurse's notes. Joy watched as he place the white towel over her sisters face and looked up at her.

"I can't do much better then this but at least your sister can rest a little easier knowing she had a funeral." Dawson said as Joy took the flower and placed it on the towel.

As she placed the paper flower over her sister tears flowed from her eyes. She couldn't really see very well but within the hands of her sister Joy saw something that made her heart skip a beat. Wiping away her tears as best she could she reached for a Poke ball that her departed sister was clinging to.

Reaching respectfully Joy slowly slid the Poke ball from the grip of her sibling. Looking at it she knew which Pokemon was inside. Raising the red and white ball up Joy pressed the release and with a flash of light a Chansey appeared.

Unlike many other times once released Chansey didn't cry out in its usual overjoyed tone. Instead it simply looked down at the two Joys with sadness in it's eyes. Stepping forwards it put one of its small stubby arms on the shoulder of Joy silently stood next to her.

Joy sniffed once and reached to Chansey, wrapping her arms around the pink Pokemon as she cried into her. Chansey simply did the same with Joy and made soft soothing noises to calm the Nurse down. After a few moments Joy eventually pulled away and looked at the pink Pokemon.

"Chansey... is anyone left alive in here?" Joy asked tentatively only for the Pokemon to shake its head sadly. "I- I see... Will you come with us? Some of the children survived with me and Dawson. We could really use your help getting to blackthorn." Chansey responded with a nod of its head.

Standing up and looking to Dawson, who was leaning against the desk, Joy wiped away the tears in her eyes. Taking out the Poke ball she returned Chansey to her ball. With one last longing look at her sister Joy then turned and walked out of the medical lab with Dawson following.

"I'm going to head to the center's cafeteria, I want you to get to the supply closet and get as much medical supplies as you can." Dawson said hoping that giving Joy something to work on would help get her mind off her sister. "After that we can head to the Poke mart in town and pick up everything else we need."

Joy looked at Dawson as she stopped outside. "Are we going to carry all of this back to the camp?"

"No I saw a wagon we can hook up my Rapidash or the Poneyta to back at the windmill. Once we get all the supplies together I'll send you back to the camp on Togekiss and have her return with Rapidash." Dawson replied. "I'll get the stuff together and you can work on getting the kids information down. We'll need shoe sizes, house numbers so we can get their clothes, and figure out sleeping arrangements."

"Sounds like you thought a lot about this..." she said.

"Not really, When I started out my journey I was tasked with chaperoning two kids who's parents were worry worts. I'm just remembering what I needed to get back then and what I wished I had." He said heading off towards the mess hall.

Joy nodded and made her way though the hallways of the Pokemon center. She had worked here for several months before she was given her assignment to head up to the alpine pastures. Knowing where to go allowed her to quickly make her way to the supply closet. Outside the closet she was greeted with the sight of a man who lay slumped face first against the door, his hand holding the electronically locked handle.

She paused and stared at the scene before her. He must have been hoping there was something in the closet to stop the spores from killing him. Only to be stopped by the electronic lock. As his body blocked the door Joy briefly debated in her mind the idea of being respectful and not moving him. It lasted no more then a moment but the speed in which she realized she had to move him, respect or not, made her a little cold inside.

Reaching over she took the man by the shoulders and slowly slid him to the side of the door allowing her access. Placing him down in a face up laying position she put his hands on his chest and closed his eyes with her fingers. She said a small prayer for him and went back to the door.

As she pressed the six key combination and unlocked the door she began to gather all the necessary medical stores inside. Her focus was on the few items the Pokemon center had that the local Poke mart didn't. As she went though she grabbed two of the spare medical bags and loaded them up with two different types of supplies.

Putting together a first response kit for both Pokemon and humans was easy enough as the closet had a guide for preparing such things taped to the wall. Joy faced another problem as the two bags combined with the additional supplies she had added to her own medical backpack was surprisingly heavy.

Joy realized she was carrying three separate bags now and remembered what Dawson said about traveling light. Sighing she put down the two waist bags and took off her own medical bag and began to do a second run though of what she had. After a third and forth check of her supplies, only dropping a box of band-aids as unnecessary, she began to wonder if she'd end up having to carry all this since she couldn't see any of the supplies as being completely unnecessary.

"So... I take it your not done packing yet?" Dawson said as he moved up behind her in the hallway.

He had two backpacks and a waist pack along with an empty cooler bag. He was currently carrying all of it but placed the cooler bag down when he made it to Joy. His back was aching at the weight of it, but he chose to ignore it for now.

Joy sighed and looked back at him. "I'm trying but..."

"There's too much important stuff, right?" He said finishing her sentence. "Did you remember to account for the fact that Gardevior has heal pulse and Chansey has soft boiled along with other abilities?"

"What... oh I guess not." Joy said turning a slight red and going back to the medical supplies and finding a lot more that could be put aside.

With Dawson's advice she managed to cut down the remaining things to two bags. She zipped up the side back and closed the other one's straps. Still blushing she looked up at the trainer to indicate she had finished.

"When we get outside I want you to take Togekiss, one of these backpacks, and head back to the campsite." Dawson said adjusting one of the packs he was carrying to a more comfortable position.

"Are you going to be OK alone?" Joy asked standing up and taking her medial bag and pulling the other over her shoulder.

"Yeah I'll be fine" Dawson said hurriedly, "When you get back to camp get that information from those kids and send it back to me along with Rapidash. My Pokemon are pretty mellow overall so there shouldn't be an issue with that."

Both trainer and Nurse headed to the entrance of the Pokemon center. Once there Dawson stepped out into the drizzle first and looked up to see the Murkrow had gathered once again. Sitting on the rooftops of the buildings they all watched with red eyes as the trainer scanned the roofs. With deliberately slow movements Dawson pulled out Togekiss's Poke ball and released her from inside.

With Dawson's Pokemon's sudden appearance the Murkrow launched themselves into the air again and began circling the town shouting their name's down at the trainer in irritation. Climbing on Dawson handed one of the bags he had obtained to Joy. Patting Togekiss on the side he looked up at the murder or Murkrow and spoke to his Pokemon.

"Fly low and fast Togekiss. Get to the camp then head back here once Joy gives you Rapidash and a list... alright?" Dawson said to his Pokemon as it nodded it's understanding.

Stepping back he watched as Togekiss lifted herself and Joy off the ground and flew quickly and quietly through the streets back towards the campsite. Soon Dawson was left with just himself and the circling Murkrow overhead. As Togekiss vanished from sight a fluttering drew his attention to the top of the Pokemon center's roof.

A large bird Pokemon had landed at the topmost part of the building just above the Pokemon center's sign. It's similarly red eyes stared down at him just like the Murkrow moments before. Pulling out his Pokedex he lined up the scanner and was rewarded with the standard monotone voice of the archive fact.

"HONCHKROW THE BIGBOSS POKEMON. IF ONE UTTERS A DEEP CRY, MANY MURKROW GATHER QUICKLY. FOR THIS, IT IS CALLED 'THE SUMMONER OF THE NIGHT'." The small device said.

"Great..." Sighing Dawson put away his Pokedex and reached for Torterra.

The Honchkrow sensing the movement let out a shrill cry which the Murkrow responded by cawing their name in unison at the trainer. With a swift wrist movement Dawson let his Poke ball release it's owner. In a flash Torterra was next to him with a roar that drowned out the murder of Murkrow.

"Jeeze I feel like I'm about to play out that terrible movie about the attacking bird Pokemon. More's the pity there's no phone booth." Dawson said sardonically as the Murkrow dived en masse at the trainer.


	8. Chapter 8

Pokemon belongs to who ever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. If you want a synopsis of the first chapter Subsistence, Ash discovers puberty and the world comes to an end.

August 18th

Town of Agricola

Dawson was starting to wonder if he was guilty of the sin of pride as he and Torterra rammed their way though the front glass doors of the Pokemon center. He hung on desperately to the tree along Torterra's shell as glass shards sliced his skin as the two retreated into the center. He definitely thought this a was a fitting wake up call as Torterra came to a sudden stop flinging the trainer though the air into the back wall.

Dawson's brief flight was only slightly jarring compared to the impact he had with the back wall. His shoulder hit first taking much of the blow before gravity took hold of him and he fell to the ground in a heap. Gasping for breath he took a moment to just lay on the ground hoping the pain he felt in his right shoulder and arm would subside.

"Damn it all." he gasped as the pain refused to recede. "Stupid cheap-shotting birds."

As he slowly sat up his mind began to work on figuring out how badly he had underestimated his opponents. Torterra's leaf storm had cleared the initial attack of the Murkrow the power of a Sinnoh league finalist's Pokemon immediately becoming apparent to the birds. The dark Pokemon had launched themselves at the two and the sudden blizzard of razor sharp leaves blended the few that had been either too eager or slow to avoid the attack.

However as soon as the attack had finished the Honchkrow entered itself into the battle. With speed that had surprised even Dawson it landed an attack on Torrterra's head and flapped away cawing with obvious mirth. The rest of the Murkrow had begun move in after the Honchkrow. Dawson had tried to get Torterra to attack only to realize he wasn't able to. The Murkrow meanwhile had formed a ring around the two as they would leisurely take turns launching attacks at both trainer and Pokemon.

"Stupid! how could you assume that the same battling rules would apply idiot!" Dawson said as gingerly touched his shoulder only for the pain to affirm what he had assumed. "That damn Honchkrow... using Quash and then having his entire murder of Murkrow take their stupid time attacking us."

Standing up slowly Dawson winced as his arm throbbed in pain. He had realized as he stood that he had another problem as well. The broken arm, along with many other parts of his body had several cuts and lacerations that had been bleeding. Thankfully most were small but the gash's on his arm were going to be a pain to treat.

Looking outside he saw many of the Murkrow on the buildings opposite the Pokemon center, Their Honchkrow leader out of sight. Dawson knew they were waiting for him and Torterra to step back outside. They apparently were smart enough to realize that rushing the two while they were inside would only end badly.

"Torterra you hold down the main lobby I go to attend to these cuts I got..." Dawson said as he winced at the pain of moving his arm. "And get a splint or sling for my arm."

Slowly walking down the corridor Torterra watched as his trainer made his way down the hallways towards the supply cabinet that Nurse Joy had been searching though not too long ago. As his trainer walked down the hallway. Torterra looked back outside towards the Murkrow and Honchkrow.

The grass Pokemon had agreed with Dawson's assessment of the situation up to a point. While he couldn't attack until the swarm of Murkrow had finished attacking him he was more then tough enough to weather the various scratches and pecks that the Murkrow could level at him. It wasn't until they started attacking Dawson that he realized that he needed to get his trainer out of the battle.

'I ain't going to let MY trainer get killed off by some dumb birds' Torterra thought moving towards the hole he created in the front door. 'Those stupid feathered dummies are going to get stomped!'

* * *

><p>Joy wasn't sure how she ended up losing control of the situation back at camp as she stood confronted by four of the six children. As soon as she had gotten back Marcus along with the other boy Steven and the two girls Michele and Rachael had effectively cornered her as soon as she got back to the camp with Togekiss. She wondered if Dawson was having an easier time as she faced their demands for the truth.<p>

Steven was clearly leading the group. He was half a head taller then the others and that combined with his slicked back jet black hair allowed him to intimidate the others into following his lead. It also didn't help that his somewhat ragged state of his shirt, jeans, and aforementioned hair made him seem more on edge then he was letting on.

"Joy stop lying!" Steven shouted as he took a step towards the nervous nurse. "Why aren't you tell us the truth? We're not stupid we know something is up. Do you expect us to believe that our parents just let you and this stranger take us to Blackthorn city?"

"N- No that's the plan.." Joy said backing away and averting her eyes. "We're going to blackthorn... to..."

Joy's sentence trailed off as she didn't feel comfortable outright lying to the children. Steven, taking this as a sign his arguments were hitting home, pressed the Pokemon nurse. The other children that had gathered around shifted about nervously as Steven continued his attack. Marcus, Michele and Rachael just wanted answers to what happened. The three of them began to have doubts about their decision to let him confront Joy.

"To what Joy! Why won't you tell us?" Steven said coldly as he stared up at the nurse.

Joy could only mumble something incoherent as she struggled to deal with the confrontational boy. She felt tears growing in her eyes as Steven only grew madder at her lack of response. Her mind was trying to figure out the best way to break the news to them only to realize she hadn't even come to terms with the news herself.

"Stop it Steven, she's not ready to answer..." Came a voice from near the campfire.

The group turned at looked over at May sitting with Lisa on one of the logs near the fire. The child's shoulder length straight blond hair blocked her face from the group as she leaned forwards over something. Slowly she looked up and turned her head smoothly towards Steven fixing the boy with an indecipherable stare.

"Stay out of this loony Lisa!" Steven snapped back glaring at her. "We might have had to put up with you being creepy when our parents were around but they're not here now!"

If Lisa took offense to the insult she didn't show it, her face remaining stoic, as she lifted up what she was holding. It took Steven a moment before he realized what she was the object was. The grass doll she had just finished making caused the boy to narrow his eyes at the girl.

"More of your little voodoo dolls loony Lisa?" He taunted trying to get reaction from the girl.

"Be quiet stupid!" Came a reply from nearby as May glared at Steven having grown tired of his shouting. "You always do this every time! You keep thinking every adult is somehow keeping secretes from you when their not!"

May reached over and gently took the straw doll from Lisa and put a small patchwork dress over the grass figure. It was a ragged dirty pink color and the stitches in several areas were lose or incomplete. Joy, who had been trying to interject while the two girls and Steven fought, realized what the dress was made of. With out thought she walked past the angry boy and over to the fire.

"May, Lisa is that part of my old uniform?" She asked quietly as she sat down next to them.

"Umm... yeah, it didn't look like I could have sewn it back together... and Lisa wanted a doll." May said nervously. "So she made the doll while I made the dress from what was left of your outfit."

"HEY, answer my question!" Steven said realizing he was being ignored.

However his anger fueled demands were simply met with more ignoring. Joy, Lisa, and May had started talking about the dress made for the grass doll while Marcus, Michele, and Rachael had quietly headed away to the Mareep while Steven wasn't looking. Realizing that he wasn't going to get an answer the boy stormed off to the edge of the camp kicking rocks and sticks as he went.

Togekiss, who had remained quiet during the entire affair, had floated over to Nurse Joy and used her wing to tap her on the shoulder lightly. Looking up Joy wondered what the Pokemon wanted only to have her eyes widen as she remembered what Dawson tasked her with. Rushing over to Dawson's bag she grabbed what she hoped was Rapidash's Poke ball. Grabbing the device she headed over to the flame Pokemon while she worked to remember the children's home information.

* * *

><p>Back in Agricola Torterra crashed into the front door and wall of a house along the main strip. His impact imbeding him into the wall slightly causeing debris from the building to fall on him onto him. Shaking off the rubble around him he glanced back out into the street where he was standing a moment before. A huge gash had been carved through the stun spore layer and into the cement of the street.<p>

Just a second ago Torterra had been out in the street cutting down the Murkrow slowly but steadily. It was almost tedious as the flock couldn't do any substantial damage to him. Any time they even managed to wound him he just used Giga drain and another Murkrow would drop out of the sky it's eyes glossed over as the life was simply drained from it.

It was the moment that he had thought that this battle was boring that the Honchkrow made its move. Torterra had only just been missed by the Pokemon's Night slash move his battle reflexes saving him from getting sliced in half. His speed had a price, however, as his sudden movement caused him to lose his balance, the Stun Spores on the ground having numbed his feet, turning his surprisingly agile dodge into a careening face plant into the side of the Poke mart.

Adjusting his head slightly Torterra looked at his tree along his back and narrowed his eyes in irritation. A side of the tree had its branches and leaves sheared clean off by the Night Slash attack. While it didn't hurt him in anyway Torterra valued it's tree much like a human would value his or her hair.

Dawson had returned from applying bandages and making a sling for his arm to hear the sounds of battle outside. Not seeing Torterra he didn't have to guess as to who was the source of those sounds. He was primarily pissed that his Pokemon had gone off on his own to battle but that anger turned to concern as he watched Torterra almost get bisected by the Honchkrow's attack.

"Oh crap..." Dawson whispered from where he was watching inside the ruined entrance of the Pokemon center. "Torterra calm down it's just leaves... please just... ahh damn it-"

Dawson's mumbling to himself was cut short as the ground beneath his feet shook with a suddenly lurch. Catching himself along the wall with one hand, his other swinging limply in the makeshift sling, he rode out the shock waves of the tremors Torterra sent though the ground in rage. Dawson thanked whatever luck he had that this area wasn't on any fault lines otherwise Torterra's earthquake attack would have probably leveled a few buildings instead of just knocking everything over.

Pulling himself out of the rubble of the house he had crashed into Torterra advanced back out into the street and fixed the Honchkrow with a glare that frankly unnerved Dawson as he watched. The Honchkrow, however, simply walked back and forth on his perch on top a house laughing at Torterra its pacing carrying a cocky swagger. This only severed to anger Torterra even more as the Pokemon launched from its tree a flurry of razor sharp leaves intending to cut down the Honchkrow.

"Torterra calm down... he's baiting you!" Dawson said as he watched the Honchkrow simply lift off to avoid the razor leaf attack.

Torterra couldn't hear his trainer though as the Honchkrow and his Murkrow lackeys started to circle their opponent. The laughing caws could be heard throughout the entire flock as they continued to taunt. The effect of the Honchkrow's swaggering and the Murkrows taunting was clear even to Dawson as he watched his starter's eye turn red with rage and confusion.

Torterra was now so throughly confused that the idea of smashing himself into any building the flock of bird Pokemon landed on seemed like a brilliant tactical masterstroke. House after house felt the impact of Torterra into their walls. Each time he crashed the birds would renew their laughter at Torterra while he became covered with cuts and bruises. Eventually the fight came to a head when the grass Pokemon smashed into a building with enough force he caused the entire structure to collapse around him wholly.

Feeling the pain of nails, glass, and splinters Torterra finally found himself able to calm down. The first clear thought he had was, appropriately, about how much of a fool he had been. Struggling to free himself from the wreckage of the ruined home he could only look up at the smirking Honchkrow as it separated itself from the flock and readied its night slash attack. He knew without anyway to dodge this attack would hit home and do more then trim the tree attached to him.

Leisurely readying its attack the Honchkrow flew in the air for a few brief moments savoring the look of defiance from Torterra. It's smugness was at an all time high as it knew from the outset that this Pokemon was clearly stronger then itself overall. Smirking with jubilation at it's success Honchkrow's wings began to glow with a violet aura as it began it's dive towards Torterra.

Flying along the ground Honchkrow let it's wing shred the ground, cutting it cleanly as it flew towards the trapped Pokemon. Letting out one more caw of victory as it watched Torterra struggle to free itself before the attack. This utter focus on it's prey cost Honchkrow dearly as its body suddenly lurched as a white blur smashed into it sending the startled Pokemon flying to the ground with a lurch.

"TOGEKISS!" Dawson cried out not even caring about remaining hidden.

The trainer watched as his Pokemon climbed in hight using the momentum from her extreme speed attack to gain altitude before any of the Murkrow or the Honchkrow could stop her. She let out a happy chip to her trapped companion at Torterra who let out a joyful cry back. Togekiss now high above the flock of bird Pokemon waited for their leader to recover before attacking again.

The Honchkrow had barely managed to regain it's flight before hitting the spore covered ground. Cawing out angry orders to it's Murkrow minions and soon both leader and flock were perusing the white Pokemon. As the flock gathered speed Togekiss gained more altitude flying higher and higher into the sky leading the enraged Honchkrow and it's minions towards the clouds.

As Dawson watched he had a smile of application at the turnaround of the battle. Not moments before the Honchkrow and Murkrow were controlling Torterra with their abilities and now, as Dawon watched Togekiss use it's follow me ability to it's fullest, they were falling into the same trap. His only worry was how she planned to deal with the entire flock as he watched the group head into the cloud layer.

As the air around Togekiss grew hazy as she fled into the overhead clouds she pulled a sharp turn facing downwards towards her perusers. Drawing her wings together Togekiss flapped outwards and used her Defog. The ability pushed away the clouds around her, clearing the sky as light shined though the newly formed hole. Without warning the Murkrow and their Honchkrow leader suddenly found themselves flying straight up into the sunlight as it beamed down blinding the entire flock and sending them into a flurry of confusion and feathers.

Not wasting a second Togekiss dived downward smashing herself though the flock. She didn't bother attacking any of the Murkrow, content to let them get smashed out of the way, her target was as the back. Bearing down on the still stunned Honckrow the flock leaser didn't even notice it had been hit as Togekiss clipped her wing past the Pokemon's neck.

It wasn't like the samurai movies of old where one wouldn't realize he had been hit until seconds later. The cut wasn't clean or pretty but its effects were instantaneous. Honchkrow's head simply popped off, almost in a comical manner, it's body feeling the effects of gravity as it no longer tried to maintain it's flight. Her wing stained with the blood of the Honchkrow Togekiss pulled up from her attack run and watched her opponent's body fall to the ground. Turning about she waited as the rest of the flock of Murkrow regained their eyesight.

As their vision came back to them the Pokemon could only stare as their leader's body continued its decent to the ground beneath them. Several of the Murkrow could only watch in shock as Honchkrow's body finally hit the dirt with an inaudible thud. The rest stared back and forth amongst themselves as if waiting for one to take the lead.

Togekiss chose not to wait as it let out a sharp chirp at the flock of Murkrow. This jolted them as the flock immediately dispersed in every direction. Satisfied with the result Togekiss smiled and floated back down to the town.

Dawson had spend the time Togekiss was battling heading over to Torterra. Dawson sighed as he watched his Pokemon struggle to get out of the rubble. Torterra once again tried to shift around in the ruins of the house only to end up with more of the walls falling on him.

"This is what happens when you lose your cool Torterra. If this place wasn't so dangerous I'd leave you in there overnight to teach you a lesson." Dawson said reaching for Torterra's Poke ball. "But as it is now it would be far too risky."

Pulling out the Pokeball he returned his trapped Pokemon to his ball. Dawson watched as Torterra's form was drawn into the white and red ball letting the rubble around the Pokemon collapse in on itself with nothing to hold it up. Holstering Torterra's Pokeball Dawson turned to come face to face with Togekiss as she flew into him wrapping the trainer in a painful hug.

"Togekiss!" Dawson cried out as the Pokemon crushed his already injured arm.

Sensing her masters pain Togekiss quickly let go an floated in front of Dawson with a concerned look on her face. Dawson clutched his wounded arm in his hand and let out a few gasping breaths hoping to get the pain under control. After a few moments Dawson regained enough composure to look up at Togekiss and give a weak smile.

"For now friend... let's not hug." He said in as upbeat manner as he could manage.

Togekiss responded with an affirmative nod as she hovered around Dawson. After a few more moments waiting for Dawson Togekiss finally let out a soft chirp to get her trainer's attention. Once she had it she lifted up one of her legs showing a small pouch with a Poke ball and note inside.

"Ahh that must be what I asked Joy for. Thanks, Togekiss." Dawson said taking the pouch from the leg of his Pokemon.

Having to use his teeth to open the small bag Dawson smiled as the insides revealed his Rapidash's Pokeball along with a short list of the houses of the children. Luck was on his side as well as the house that Torterra had impacted wasn't one of the ones on the list.

Adjusting his sling as carefully as he could Dawson headed off towards the windmill he and Joy had originally used to examine the town from afar. The trip too slightly longer as his arm made balancing on the soggy stun spore difficult. As he approached the mill he pulled out Rapidash's Pokeball.

Releasing the fire Pokemon Dawson walked up to what he had found when him and Joy first arrived and looked back at Rapidash. The wagon near the mill was still in good condition without much weather damage. It was an amalgamation of design as the wheels were rubber tires and the frame was a solid metal with wood making the floor and walls of the wagon. It also had a nearby yoke which looked to be able to hold two or four Pokemon. Dawson speculated it was used by whoever owned the mill to get the sacks of whatever they made to and from the town.

"Well Rapidash?" Dawson asked looking over at the flaming Pokemon. "I know your not used to pulling something but we'll need this to get to Blackthorn city. Once we get back to camp I'm sure the Poneyta will likely be able to pull this so it's not on you alone."

Dawson watched as Rapidash approached the device and wagon. Sniffing it twice she circled around what her trainer wanted her pull. Eventually she finished her evaluation of the wagon and nodded to Dawson.

"Thank you." Dawson said patting her neck with his good arm. "I don't know when or if I'll be able to reward you for this but I really do applicate you willing to pull this thing."

Once the wagon yoke was on, a processes made much more interesting by only having one working arm, Dawson and his Pokemon Rapidash and Togekiss made their way back towards the town. His first stop once they made it back to Agricola was the local Poke mart. Letting the glass door slide open he walked in while Togekiss and Rapidash waited outside for him to return.

The inside of the mart was still lit and was designed like the others. Several rows of supplies with the walls containing shelves of more specified needs of trainers. While most of the products along the shelves had fallen over when Torterra used earthquake they hadn't been damaged much by the fall and the entire store was still manageable.

Dawson's first target was general supplies the Poke mart had. Trash bags, emergency blankets, backpacks, water bottles, and several other necessary supplies. Recalling his first year traveling and the trials he had to endure with the two younger kids having no outdoors experience what so ever. The thought of actually being thankfully for their lack of foresight brought a smile to the trainers face.

After he secured the boxes on the cart he headed back in walking along the rear wall near the far corner. Most trainers didn't need to shop along the back walls as they came prepared when they left home for the first time. The shelves contained things like tents and sleeping backs which Dawson carried out to the wagon. Seven sleeping bags and pads along with the four two person tents took up a larger space then Dawson would have liked but he knew making the several day trip without them wouldn't be possible with the children in tow.

The last trip in Dawson knew would be the longest as he systematically collected every non perishable food item he could get his hands on. Most of the stuff on the shelves was collected easily but the boxes of supplies in back took longer as he awkwardly carried out the much heavier boxes.

After loading up the wagon with the food Dawson took a moment to rest on the seat of the wagon. Pulling out his Poketch from his pocket he checked the time on the small wrist watch. Switching though the various applications he had downloaded Dawson stopped well before the watch aspect of his Poketch and looked at the blank screen. The watch's display showed nothing which caused the trainer to tilt his head in confusion.

"Odd..." he said as he switched the application up one then back down.

What he should have seen was the local map on the screen of his Poketch yet all that showed was the blank face of his watch. Choosing not to brood on the strange occurrence Dawson climbed down from the wagon. Patting Rapidash on the side he and his Pokemon made their way to the first house on the list.


	9. Chapter 9

Pokemon belongs to who ever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. I'd say I've run out of things to say here but apparently not.

August 18th

Campgrounds

Joy struggled to keep up with Steven as he ran though the woods towards Agricola. He had a clear lead on her but was unlikely to lose the Nurse as next to her ran Dawson's Luxray. The electric Pokemon was the one who warned her of the boy's bolt towards the path to the town. As she began to gasp for breath, unable to run as long as Steven, she wondered how it came to this.

After she had sent out Togekiss she relaxed for a bit while waiting for Dawson to return. Several times Steven had tried to interrogate her about what she wasn't telling the children but each time he was rebuked by May or Lisa or simply ignored by Joy as she spent time with the children. Eventually he got fed up trying and Joy thought that would have been the end for it. At least it would have been if Steven hadn't started running towards the town heedless of the warnings both nurse and trainer gave him.

Glancing back over his shoulder Steven sneered at the sight of Joy slowing down behind him. He saw Dawson's Luxray slow as well chosing to stay with the Pokemon nurse instead of running him down herself. As Joy fell further and further behind Steven picked up the pace and ran around a bend in the path towards the town.

A combination of his momentum and constantly looking over his shoulder at Joy proved to be his undoing as Steven crashed head first into something solid and sent the young boy falling backwards. Groaning he tried to get up only to have his ears assaulted by a blood curdling scream from whatever it was he ran into. His head snapping up Steven looked at what he ran into as the scream was followed by a series of short whimpers as Dawson cradled his broken arm that the boy had run straight into.

"Oh sweet merciful God that hurts..." Dawson said quietly as the pain died down slightly

Trying to bolt Steven tried to get off the ground only to be pushed back down again by Dawson's foot. Grimacing as his arm throbbed Dawson looked down at the boy pinned under his foot. He was about to ask what he was doing when Joy and Luxray rounded the bend and caught up with them.

"Dawson!" The nurse said looking at him holding the struggling boy down. "Your arm, what happened?"

"It broke..." Dawson said finally feeling the pain start to subside.

"What? STEVEN YOU BROKE DAWSON'S ARM?" Joy cried out rushing over to examine the trainer.

"Huh?" Dawson said over cries of protest from the boy under his foot. "How could this shrimp break my arm? I broke it back in town, the kid just ran into it."

"Let me up already!" Steven piped in trying to budge the trainer's foot.

"I have no clue why you're running around here or why Joy is chasing you... but if I let you up you have to promise me that you'll head back to the campsite with me and joy." Dawson said looking down at the young boy.

"If you tell me what you two are hiding!" Steven said staring up at Dawson.

Joy would have responded to the boy's demands but happened to glance up at Dawson's face to see him studying the boy carefully. Steven had since stopped struggling and was meeting the gaze of the trainer with his own glare and the two squared off for several tense moments. Dawson eventually took his foot off as Steven sat up and stared at the trainer.

"Listen kid... Steven was it?" Dawson said smiling. "Fine, you and the others get the whole truth. Right now however we're all going back to the camp and getting lunch first."

"No! Your going to tell me now or I'm not going back!" Steven said getting up and standing in front of the Trainer.

"Kid..." Dawson replied slowly his eyes narrowing and his smile vanishing. "I'm going out on a limb here and hoping you're mature enough to be treated as an adult. However if you start thinking that you can make demands of me I'm going to knock you on your ass, DRAG you back to camp, and not tell you a damn thing."

The two squared off again as Joy and Luxray watched the two nervously. Several moments passed again as trainer and child stared each other down. Eventually Steven turned around and stormed off towards the campsite. Behind him Dawson sighed with a subtle nod he signaled Luxray to go with him while Joy approached.

"Dawson... sorry, he got away before I even realized what he was up to..." Joy said sheepishly.

"Don't fret over it." Dawson replied watching the kid round the corner with his Pokemon. "I figured they'd want the truth eventually... I just hoped we'd be on our way or at Blackthorn befo-"

Dawson was interrupted by a sudden pain in his arm as Joy's cool hands began to check his arm. He would have protested but, remembering their moment in the windmill, held his tongue. After a few moments, followed by a few more as she examined the scraches over his body, Joy looked up at the trainer with a concerned look on her face.

"How did you get these?" She asked pulling her hands away from the trainer.

"Fell down some Murkrow shaped stairs, though a pane of glass, and hit the Honchkrow on the floor." Dawson said as he looked away to avoid the death glare she leveled at him.

"Dawson this isn't a joking matter." She replied seriously. "What happened, can you move your fingers or arm at all?"

"Torterra launched me at a wall and I hit it arm first, and my fingers and wrist move a little bit and I can't move my arm without massive pain." He said twitching his fingers and wrist slightly.

"I don't think the break is that bad right now, you could be lucky and only fractured your arm... but I want to check more throughly when we get back before Chansey or Gardevoir tries to heal it." Joy said looking at the arm closely.

"Wait why can't we just have one of them hop, skip, and Pokemon away the injury." Dawson asked quizzically. "Seems easier overall then worrying about it."

"Well... I don't know how the healing abilities of Pokemon fully work on humans now." Joy said looking up at the trainer. "If we just let them heal your arm as is we might be doing more harm then good. If your bone is broken and shifted out of alignment then just healing it and the muscles around it might end up making the bone set badly or worse."

"Alright you're the doctor." Dawson said with a defeated tone.

"What? no I'm not..." Joy responded blushing at the comment and averting her eyes. "I'm no doctor."

"Yeah well if what we saw on the TV is true then you very well might be the only person with medical experience anywhere near here." Dawson said heading over to Rapidash and getting his Pokemon and the wagon moving again. "Heck, you might be the most experienced person in all of Johto..."

Dawson was about to start walking when he realized just how macabre he sounded. Turning around he looked at Joy with a concerned look on his face. The nurse was looking away as Dawson fumbled with an apology.

"Oh uh... I'm sorry Joy that came out a lot more insensitive then I meant..." he said.

"It's OK..." Joy said sadly. "I cried earlier when I saw my sister. It almost seems a waste to shed tears over something like that."

Unsure of how to respond Dawson went back to the wagon. As Joy started walking alongside them the trainer was left to wonder how much more this world would end up changing the nurse and the children. As he and the Pokemon nurse made their way to the camp Dawson did a quick scan of the area noting changes from when he left.

The fire had burned down to embers in the center of the camp which the trainer made a note to restock it. Sitting with Lisa and May was Gardevoir, though her own willpower or the aid of one of the children she had released herself from her Pokeball. He wished she had gotten more sleep after keeping watch last night. Wondering if she could release herself from her Pokeball how he would keep her parental protective streak from running her ragged.

He didn't have long to think as Steven had called everyone together. As the two approached the boy turned and began a third stare down with Dawson. Silently Gardevoir followed Lisa and May. As they sat down at a nearby table she floated next to her trainer and took up a flanking position behind him opposite Joy before closing her eyes.

"So tell us already!" He demanded as the rest of the children looked back and forth between the two.

"Kid..." Dawson started before sighing and bringing his good hand up to his temple to fight off the approaching head ache. "Seriously, calm down, if you keep this up you're going to burst a blood vessel or something. I said lunch first then I'll tell you guys, I'm not going to run off or anything so stop breathing down my neck about this."

"Just tell us now." Steven said slowly calming down.

"You guy probably won't eat lunch if I tell you before..." Replied Dawson with a cavalier tone.

"I don't care." The boy retorted the anger in his voice subsiding

The children and Joy were watching with a mix of nervous apprehension and fear. For the children it wasn't just that they wanted to know but they were concerned with the idea of Steven angering their self proclaimed chaperones. Joy however was much more worried about what their reactions would be when Dawson finally told them, which is what she assumed was going to happen.

"Fine then..." Dawson said walking over to the main table by the campfire. "Everyone sit."

The group of children followed the trainer and sat down at the table. Dawson situated himself at the head while Joy stood slightly behind him. Closing his eyes Dawson took in a deep breath as he prepared to break the new to the children.

"All of you are about to understand the double edged sword of knowledge..." Dawson said to himself silently, "As most of you guessed something has happened." Dawson started.

"No shit." Steven replied sardonically.

"I'm not sure of the details yet," The trainer continued ignoring the boy, "But something has changed in Pokemon. Whatever it was it happened two days ago when our Pokemon lost control of their powers and nearly went crazy. Many of you were probably woken up during the chaos. If you didn't then you surely saw the results from when you were attacked in the field by those bug Pokemon."

Most of the children broke eye contact at this as the memories surfaced and the children remembered the attack. May was the most uncomfortable with remember that time as she brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Both her hands resting on the area where her injury was. Steven was the first to speak as his anger once driving his words being replaced by a surreal calm.

"We didn't see anything. The Mareep blocked our view and we were freaked by the Yanma and Yanmega." He said.

"It was probably for the best." Dawson replied continuing, "Since from what I can tell of what happened there... Pokemon can now kill."

"We've always known that, every now and then a Mareep would get eaten or killed by something." Steven interjected, "It's part of that circle of life thing our parents kept talking about."

"Kid, I'm not talking about Pokemon killing Pokemon for food." Dawson replied, "I'm talking about Pokemon being able to kill humans. There were more then you six at the field that day. I assume you thought the other kids with you had escaped?"

Dawson waited for a reply knowing he wasn't likely to get one. The children all stared at him as they tried to grasp what the trainer was saying. Knowing this stunned silence was his only window he continued with his explanation.

"The didn't." Dawson said flatly, "Those grass Pokemon that floated over your town? They dropped spores which paralyzed your entire body making impossible to move or breathe. Those Dark Pokemon that attacked us last night? They managed to hurt Joy to the point where she might have died without help. The town had a flock of Murkrow and a Honchkrow that actively tried to kill me and my Pokemon."

Dawson pointed out the tattered shape of his shirt and broken arm to add emphasis to his words. He felt Joy tense up behind him as she remember last night. The children continued to watch, some having thoughtful expressions others had a vague listless stare as the trainer finished his explanation. Dawson wished he could have broken the news to them gently but Steven forced his hand.

"OK..." Came a reply from May.

Dawson was taken aback for a moment. He expected rage, anger, sadness, or even fear but the sheer apathy from the children seemed to take it in an almost unnatural stride. Even Steven seemed to calm down at the news. Quickly collecting himself he cleared his throat.

"Well that's... good." He said, "When I was in town I got clothes from your houses, they're in the trash bags on the cart. Since we're going to be traveling for several days I want you all to pack the clothes into the nearby back packs."

"OK..." The children said with the same tone as May's earlier reply.

Before anyone could start their task their attention was drawn to a loud grumbling. The kids looked back and forth to each other to figure out what the sound was. Dawson and Joy tensed hoping the growl wasn't from a Pokemon.

"I'm hungry." Lisa said as she put down the straw doll she was playing with.

"Yes, we all are." Joy said stepping forwards and cutting off Dawson before he could reply. "Who wants to help me make some soup?"

The hands of May, Rachael, and Michele went up as Marcus and Steven both made dejected faces at the lunch menu. Dawson sighed and headed back to the cart to grab the pot he had collected earlier. Walking back he addressed the children one more time.

"Fine lunch first, THEN packing backpacks."

An hour later.

Dawson, now shirtless, sighed at the ministrations of his Gardevoir as the heal pulse washed though his body and arm. It was a pleasant feeling that flowed though him, warming him slightly and making him slightly giddy, while the cuts and broken bone slowly fixed themselves. When she had finished Dawson stood up and slowly moved his arm, twisting and pivoting the appendage to check to see if it still hurt. Smiling at the lack of pain the trainer then shifted his back to feel if any pain remained from when he was slammed into the tree during the start of this.

"Wow talk about a TLC treatment Gardevoir..." Dawson said jubilantly. "Man it feels like my entire body is at one hundred and ten percent!"

"Thats good to hear Dawson." Joy said watching him move his arm about with more vigor.

After she and the other children had finished making their lunch she spent some time examining Dawson's arm. Determining that the break wasn't serious enough to worry about the potential side effects of healing it she let Gardevoir go to work. After sending them to take care of the clothes Dawson brought back from their respective homes she watched as Gardevoir healed her trainer with a slight twinge of jealously and apprehension. She had felt the same twinge whenever she had to let her sisters Chansey take care of something she or her sister couldn't.

"So... Dawson," Joy began nervously, "I was looking over the supplies while you were getting healed and... well it seems a little silly but... It seems like there's only four tents."

"Yeah each is a two person, eight of us two per tent." Dawson replied pulling a new T-shirt from his backpack.

Joy waited a few moments hopeing he'd grasp the issue she was haveing. "And you don't see anything wrong with that...?"

"Other then the fact that your makeing a big deal about us shareing a tent, no. Joy at best it'll be for a few days while we head to Blackthorn. I'm trying to make this trip as incidentless as possible which means doing our best to travel light." Came his frank responce. "I'd also like to think that I've at least proved somewhat that I have no ill intentions towards you. But if you're worried about cliche stuff like sleeping in the same tent then I'll fly back to town, get you a seprate tent, and let you sleep by yourself while the dangerous Pokemon lurk at the edge of the camp..."

"N-no... that's OK, I just... It's just the idea is kind of... shocking." Joy said with a defeated tone as she watched the children fill the backpacks Dawson had lifted from the Poke mart. "You seem rather on top of things though..."

"I'm just glad these kids know a little something about camping and mountain hiking." Dawson replied. "The last kids I had to babysit didn't know boots from backpacks and traveling from the first town to the second was one of the most miserable times I've ever had."

"What happened?" She queried.

"They didn't bring anything useful at all. Its like they were planning on going to school or driving the entire trip." Dawson said bringing a hand up to scratch his head, "At any rate we need to plan the route to Blackthorn now."

"I thought you had that done already?" Joy said looking at the trainer.

"Did have it done." Dawson replied pulling out a map from his backpack, "I was planning on using the Poktech apps I have to augment the journy but somethings been wrong with them since the Pokemon center. The GPS navigation I installed on it was one of the first to go. So that requires a reevaluation of our plans."

Sitting next to him Joy looked over at the children as they packed their bags. They seemed to have returned to a slightly less apathetic state then before lunch but some seemed to still be moving around with a lethargic step. She guessed it might have been from the shock of the news of their parents deaths that made them act like that but it seemed unnatural.

"Dawson..." Joy began tentatively, "Did the children's reactions to the news seem... I don't know... off to you?"

"Yep." Dawson replied without looking up.

"Don't you think that's strange at all?" Joy said looking at him.

"Did at first," Dawson started looking up at the children. "Then I thought about it and then I realized their reactions were similar to earlier times... when Gardevoir somehow used her calm mind on them."

Joy thought about it for a moment then her eyes widened, "She can do that? Is that even ethical?"

"I'm not sure. This is mostly just speculation on my part. I'm not even sure how something that should only affect Gardevoir manages to affect the children. Although I'm not going to argue with it if it means no mass panic to deal with." Dawson replied flatly. "I also have more pressing issues to worry about. As soon as I'm done with the route I need to figure out who's been stealing all my berries."

"What?" Joy replied with disbelief. "Berries are more important then the matter of your Pokemon potentially brainwashing children?"

"Hey I'm not likely to get many more chances to gather them before winter..." Dawson said as he began looking over his maps.

"Unbelievable." Joy said incredulously.

Evening

The night had descended on the forest, once again surrounding Dawson and Joy. The skies had cleared slightly and every few minutes the mood would shine through illuminating the trees around them. Dawson held a hand to the Pokeball at his waist as he and Joy stood in front of a large cave entrance. Chansey and Luxray were in front of them and both Pokemon were currently conversing with two of the Mightyena that lived there.

Both parties were clearly on edge as the the leader and his mate listened to Luxray and Chansey. Dawson would occasionally let his fingers shift as they hovered over the Pokeball containing Gyarados while Joy nervously looked about at all the dark Pokemon that surrounded them. The Mightyena weren't any less tense as they remembered Dawson and his Pokemon assault. Several of their number had died in that attack and they wanted revenge.

"How did you convince me this was a good idea?" The trainer hissed to Joy.

Despite her tension Joy allowed herself a small smile. "I didn't, remember? I just said I'd go with or without you." came her whispered reply.

While she might have been able to smile at Dawson's irritation she felt the tension of the situation just as much as everyone else. She was terrified well before she asked him to escort her to the cave. She could only do so much to help the Poochyena last time but with Chansey and the supplies from town she had an opportunity to see to the more injured of the pups.

The walk though the woods at night, while they knew they were being watched the entire time, had frayed her already tense nerves. Standing at the mouth of the cave with the entire pack of Mightyena surrounding them, her memories of last night flashing though her mind, it was all she could do not to break down and start trembling in fear. Dawson's presence was a comfort to her but he was on edge as well which didn't help things.

The attention of the two was finally drawn to the meeting between the pack leader and Luxray and Chansey. Luxray had turned and walked back sitting down in front of Joy and Dawson while Chansey followed the Mightyena into the darkness of the cave. As soon they were out of sight the rest of the pack melted into the shadows around them, leaving the three to their own devices.

"Well I guess negotiations were successful," Dawson said letting out a breath of relief and walking over to a nearby rock to sit down. "Why the hell are Mightyena even in this region? The Pokedex said they were native to Hoenn."

Joy walked over to his spot and sat down next to the trainer, "No they are not. Apparently, a couple of decades ago, Team rocket had a facility set up here for their experiments with Pokemon."

"Experiments, What kind?" Dawson queried.

"Well I'm not sure of the details since it happened before my time. My sister said they were experimenting with... I think she called it invasive species." Joy replied, "Something about shifting Pokemon from their natural habitat to new regions. I don't know the details though since no one seemed to want to talk about it."

"Well its safe to assume that if it's a team 'insert noun here' it probably sucks for the rest of us." Dawson said glancing into the cave.

The minutes dragged on as both Dawson and Joy waited for her Chansey to return. The trainer knew that if something happened Luxray would tell them. He knew she had vision that could see though objects and was likely watching Chansey work.

Dawson was startled by a sudden weight pressing into him as he watched Luxray. Joy had closed her eyes and leaned against him gentley. Under normal situations he might have protested being used as a pillow, however her acquiesced his body to let her catch up on some much needed sleep. He speculated she was worn out and focused on keeping as still as possible.

"What a day..." he whispered.

"Mmm quiet please..." Joy said shifting her weight into Dawson. "I'm trying to sleep."

"On me I might add." Dawson interjected.

"I was going to lean against a rock but your more comfortable." Joy mumbled back.

"How wonderful, It's good to know I beat out a rock for sleeping arrangements." He replied sarcastically.

Their discussion was interrupted by Luxray suddenly standing up and stareing into the darkness of the cave. Before Dawson could ask his Pokemon what happened he heard sounds comeing from inside. Running out at as fast as it's stubby feet could manage Chansey beelined for trainer and nurse crying out for the two.

"Chansey, whats wrong?" Joy said sitting up and looking at her distraught Pokemon.

Still crying out it grabbed one of Joy's hands and started to pull her towards the cave. Not resisting the Pokemon nurse followed her distraught assistant into the darkness. Behind her she glanced back to see Dawson and Luxray follow her. The trainer's Pokemon surrounding itself with a light aura as it used flash to light their way.

Moving thought the dimly lit tunnels the group made their way to the room Joy spent hours in last night. Many of the Poochyena pups and wounded Mightyena had left on their own once they were well enough to walk from Chansey's or Joy's treatment. There were a few left simply recovering from wounds that took more then the Nurse or her Pokemon could heal immediately.

In the center was a single Poochyena laying on it's side on top a pile of blankets. Flanking the Pokemon was the Pack leader along with two other Mightyena with their noses close to the Poochyena. The pup was trembling slightly as the two Mightyena whimpered at the sight of their child in pain.

As soon as she saw the situation Joy rushed past Chansey and knelt down next to the Poochyena. From her pack she pulled out a small stethoscope and started listening to the Pokemon's heartbeat. Pulling it away she reached into her pack and pulled out an antidote vial and snapped it into an injector.

"I don't understand," Joy said to herself as she administered the antidote, "I remember this one's injury. It shouldn't be this bad..."

"What's the matter Joy?" Dawson asked moving next to her.

"I saw to the treatment of this Poochyena," She replied, "When I was here last night it wasn't nearly as bad as this. The wound looked like a small scrape at best. It must have been poisoned by something other then a sting."

Working fervently she began to diagnosis the Poochyena's aliment. Several minutes passed as Joy switched from one instrument in her bag to the next. The Pack leader and Poochyena's parents watched worriedly, letting out soft whimpers anytime Joy pulled out some other instrument from her pack. Eventually she slowed and then stopped as the pup's trembling ebbed. Looking at Dawson Joy's face was covered in worry.

"This isn't good Dawson..." She started glancing back at the pup, "It must have breathed in the poison which is why I didn't notice it at first. If I had managed to see it I might have been able to prevent this damage... As it stands right now its not going to make it with just one antidote."

"So what are you getting at?" Dawson asked.

"I can't save this pup unless I spend several days treating it..." Joy replied looking back up at Dawson.

"Whoa that's not really an option Joy." Dawson said quickly glancing over at the Mightyena.

"I... I know but..." Joy started, fumbling with the words.

"You want to take care of it and at the same time take care of the kids?" Dawson finished for her.

"Yes." Was her singular reply.

Sighing slightly Dawson signaled Luxray over and whispered something into her ear. Nodding she turned and walked over to the three Mightyena. As they had seen earlier the Pack leader and Luxray began another discussion. This one however was much easier to follow as almost immediately the Pack leaders ears flattened behind it and let out a low growl. Luxray's response was to let out a similar growl while small sparks cracked from her mane.

Completely unnoticed by the two one of the Poochyena's parents gently lifted their pup and carried it over to Joy. Softly placing it in her lap the Mightyena looking up pleadingly at the Pokemon Nurse. Wrapping her hands around the pup Joy's eyes met the Mightyena's.

"I- If the pup comes along with us... You might never see him again..." She said. "Are you OK with that?"

A silent nod from both Mightyena was her reply.

"I swear on my honor as a Nurse Joy he gets better..." She said with resolution in her eyes as the others prepared to leave.


	10. Chapter 10

okemon belongs to who ever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Ho-oh's planned genocide is rather interesting when you think about it. He wants to kill humans because he saw no redeeming value in them. Yet all this war has done is wipe out any sympathetic person that might have redeemed the race as a whole. Furthermore all that's left are ones that want his head on a pike and will do anything to get it.

August 19th

The road to Blackthorn from Agricola wasn't an easy trek for anyone using the route. Agricola often sent it's food to the larger more easily accessed towns and cities, which in turn, allowed the townspeople to earn better profits and get more necessary supplies. This decision clearly showed as Dawson's group made their way down the route. The dirt road was poorly maintained as potholes were abundant and much of it was covered in mud from the recent rain.

Thankfully the trip was mostly through once used farmland. Large fields surrounded by rock walls composed the initial landscape eventually leading into trees and woods off in the distance. The fields themselves were overgrown and thick save for the immediate area around the road which was only partially maintained. The farmland here showing signs of use once a great while ago but now apparently left to the elements for some unknown reason.

Dawson led the group though the area as they made their way towards the city constantly on the look out for wild Pokemon. The wagon he took from the town, pulled by two of the three Poneyta, followed immediately after him. It was flanked by both Torterra and Luxray on either side. Both Pokemon walked off the road and between the everyone and the long grass at all times. Togekiss was delegated to look out, flying high over the group, and keeping an eye out for threats from above.

The Mareep followed behind the cart in an orderly line. The children were used to herding the Pokemon up the mountains to the alpine pastures and were able to keep them together without much difficulty. It also helped that the Mareep were used to the children and were mellow by nature. The children also being well behaved throughout the trip much to Dawson's relief.

Gardevoir floated at the head of the party as they traveled towards Blackthorn being placed at the front of the group. Her position was key as she was keeping a constant watch over the group using future sight. Several times already she signaled the other Pokemon and Dawson of an impending attack. Even with several seconds worth of warning it was enough to easily rout any potential combat.

Gardevoir paused in her constant surveying of the future to look back at the group as they traveled. Her trainer was the one closest walking alongside the two Poneyta as they pulled the cart his mind occupied with deeper thoughts then she could detect with just a subtle glance. She debated actually reading her trainers mind for a moment before deciding not to, choosing to respecting his privacy.

The children drew her attention next, their thoughts were everywhere as her psychic powers allowed her to view each one's surface thoughts. She worried about her mind's contact with them, something she never thought was possible beyond understanding their simple feelings, but couldn't help herself. Human thoughts were in such a constant state of change and had so many nuances that she lost herself several times simply watching them think about even the simplest of things.

Both Lisa and May's minds drew her attention the most. May's having formed such a strong image of her in it after she healed the young girls leg. To Gardevoir it was like looking into a warped mirror, she saw her self in the image but it was stretched or compacted. Lisa's thoughts drew her in due to their similarities to her own. Her mind was diverse like any other humans but every now and then she'd find a thought that almost mirrored her own. Each time she looked closer it turned out to be similar but different in some fundamental way.

Shaking her head Gardevoir pulled back, feeling herself get lost in the thoughts again, and continued to scan the mental status of the party. The last mind she viewed was that of the Poochyena that currently lay on the wagon. Joy had the luck of sitting next to the Pokemon and not tiring out by walking everywhere. She had to make sure to constantly watch the Pokemon in case of the poison doing more damage. The Poochyena only had a semblance of consciousness every time it started to grasp what happened it retreated back terrified of the strange place, smells, and people around it.

Gardevoir was about to resume scanning the future for threats when her thoughts drifted to just before they left the camp back at Agricola. Letting her mind expand she let it connect to the other Pokemon guarding the party. One by one her mind touched and signaled the other Pokemon. Togekiss was the first to respond to Gardevoir's mental connection.

"What is it Gardevoir, is something attacking?" She mentally queried.

"No," Thought Gardevoir, "I just wanted to get all of your opinions on what Dawson... demanded... of us earlier."

"Oh come on, that's not going to happen!" Torterra responded his thoughts louder then the others due to their simple nature.

"No Torterra..." Luxray replied, "It is likely to happen, if it wasn't then Dawson would never have given such an order. What ever happened to this world has made life for the humans that much more dangerous. He knows that."

"I'd like to think that it won't come to that." Togekiss stated, "Do you guys realize how much more powerful we are? I feel like everything I do is not only easier but more powerful. At times I feel like I'm almost bursting with power. We have the strength to protect everyone here against anything I think!"

Gardevoir looked up at her companion, "Anything? While I do concede that we are likely stronger then most wild Pokemon we'd find here. I doubt very much all of our powers combined would suffice against something of a legendary's power."

"Oh yeah we're totally going to to run into one of them." Togekiss quipped sarcasticly, "Its unlikely we'll even see a legendary much less one we have to fight."

Gardevoir sighed at the response, "Ever the optimist..."

Meanwhile within the grass several pairs of eyes watched the group move along the road. The Rattata had been keeping an eye on them from the safety of the grass for hours now. After their first attempts at attacking had ended in complete failure they started watching hoping for any signs of weakness. Finally finding what they needed they moved deeper into the grass and quietly moved away.

Making their way though the fields the Rattata eventually reached the forest at the edge of the farmland. Passing though the woods they came to a clearing in the forest just out of sight of the road. The clearing was currently occupied with two groups of Pokemon on either side. The hostility of both sides was heavy in the air as the Rattata approached

One side of the clearing was occupied by a large group Pokemon. Many Rattata, a few Raticate, and an occasional Sentret. A large Sandslash dominated the group of Pokemon with its presence. He was the only one near the center and looked considerably stronger then many of the other Pokemon.

The other side of the clearing stood a large number of Nidoran's of both genders, several Nidorino and Nidorina, along with a few Ekans. Near the center, like his Sandslash counterpart, was a large Arbok towering over many of the assembled Pokemon. Seeing the Rattata return it hissed out at them.

"Well what did you ssssee? Tell usss!" It demanded.

The Sandslash opposite him let out a low growl. "They don't take order from you or your kind!"

In response the Arbok let out a sharp hiss at his Sandslash counterpart. The Pokemon responded by crouching and scraping his claws together. Sparks from the Sandslash's claws and venom from the Arbok's fangs showed their desire to kill each other. The Pokemon on each side began making similar aggressive stances and threatening poses in response to their leaders blood lust.

Both groups were never friendly with each other. Ever since the message they heard in their minds several days ago they had both felt the surge of power and immediately though of usurping the position of the other. The resulting battles had displayed to both sides clearly that their newfound strength applied to all Pokemon.

Not that it stopped them from fighting. Both sides nursing grudges and hatred for slights long past. The road leading though the area acting as an impromptu line in the sand. It was in the mists of one of their many battles that the strangers had arrived. Both sides preparing to attack each other regardless of what was in the way proved costly as the group of humans and their Pokemon had entered their war zone.

For them it would have been another battle but the green and white Pokemon at the front set out a signal to the others and both sides were thrown into chaos as they were suddenly attacked by the trainers Pokemon with such ferocity they immediately routed. Both sides hated each other but now hated the newcomers even more. It didn't take long for them to form a temporary truce with the sole purpose of making the humans pay for their unknowing transgressions.

The Rattatas, hopeing to avoid conflict, began giving their report before a battle broke out. "We know how they see us coming every time." One quickly blurted out. "Each time we attacked it was that lead Pokemon that told the others of us. We... We lost a few of our own but its definitely that one. There seems to only be one trainer which the Pokemon belong to. All the others don't seem to have Pokemon.

"Sssso... we attack that one firssst then!" The Arbok said cooling down slightly, "Then we kill the resssst."

"umm... that's probably not going to work." One of the Rattata replied.

"What?" Came the angered response from the Arbok. "YOU THINK YOU KNOW BETTER THEN ME!"

The Rattata collectively cowered back slightly. "N-No, i-its just that the one who predicts the attacks seems to be the most powerful of the group."

"So, We separate that one and deal with the others first." The Sandslash stated drawing the attention of the irate Arbok. "Then we-"

In a second it stopped talking an launched itself towards it's own group of Pokemon. Darting though them he brought his claws up readying an attack. In one smooth steady motion sweapt his claw forward and grabbed a Furret from the back of the group slamming and pinning the Pokemon against a tree.

"And who do we have here?" He growled out, his claws drawing thin rivulets of blood from the Pokemon's neck. "I don't recognize you. Be quick in your explanation or your furry little head parts with it's body."

"I-I'm not from this area..." The Furret managed to reply, "I've been following the humans for the last few days."

The Pokemon on the Arbok's side struggled to see what their Sandslash rival was doing near his own army. The Arbok itself just lifted himself up higher and watched from its overhead view. The rest of the Sandslash's Pokemon had backed away from their leader to give him room to work. If he chose to start attacking the Furret they might get caught in the crossfire.

"I-I can help you!" The Furret said quickly trying to prop himself up on the tree to stop the Sandslash's claws from digging into his neck. "The Pokemon at the head is the strongest but there are others too!"

Sandslash looked at the struggling Furret pulling away his claws. "So tell us then." He said walking back to the center.

Falling the ground Pokemon Furret nervously kept his head down. All eyes were on him as he moved to the center of the clearing. Standing before the two Pokemon he gulped softly before continuing.

"The trainer," he started hesitantly, "He has at least three other Pokemon with him. One is another Ponyta like the ones pulling the cart but he also has a Rapidash with him as well. The nurse Joy also has a Chansey with her in addition to that."

"That's all easily dealt with." replied the Sandslash.

"But the last Pokemon the trainer owns... it is a Gyarados." The Furret said.

At the mention of the last Pokemon murmurers ran though the collected groups. Few had ever seen a Gyarados but all of them knew of the terrible wrath and power they possessed. Their leaders were powerful they all knew but a Pokemon of that caliber was worlds apart and many of them wondered how much more terrible it would be with the newfound power they all possessed.

"That's why you need to go after the trainer first." The Furret continued, "Take him out and the Pokemon lose their direction and if your lucky that Gyarados will never be let out of it's ball."

"That sssstill doesss not help usss when that contemptible human-like Pokemon can forsssse usss attacking!" The Arbok hissed at the Furret.

"That's why I said I could help." He replied, "As I've been following them one of the children has been giving me food. He already tried to capture me." The Furret felt the crowd go slightly more hostile at this revelation, "I responded by trying to bite off his hand though!" He hastily amended. "But I can get get in close to them, get near the trainer, and even with that lead Pokemon's predictions I could get that trainer's Pokeballs away from him before the attack."

"So, you get all close to the humans then stab them in the back right before we attack... I like that thinking." The Sandslash replied, "How soon can you do this? The quicker this is finished and over the quicker we can be done with the present company!"

The Furret paused thinking about how much time he would need. "Tomorrow at the earliest, I could do with more time but I can work with that. Wait until the sun is at the highest point then attack!" He said.

"Yessss, tomorrow the interlopersss will finally be dealt with. Their blood and bodiessss will ssserve asss a warning to all who would dare interfere!" Hissed the Arbok, "Go and prepare the humanssss!"

Without any further prompting the Furret all but bolted towards the forest. Without even looking back he franticly headed towards the road Dawson and the others occupied.

Evening

Torterra readied the tree on its back as it faced one last column of long grass. Dawson watched from nearby, standing on patch of previously cut grass. In a moment the Pokemon launched a flurry of razor leaves at the last bit of foliage around them. Within seconds the grass was shredded and the farm plot they chose to make camp in was cleared.

The area was large with stone walls forming the plot into a square. The tents were currently being put up in the center the children divided between setting them up and cooking supper. Joy watched from the wagon, offering occasional advice to the ones making dinner, while she tended to the Poochyena. While the area beyond the wall still had grass and fields to cover any Pokemon's approach if they wanted to get near the tents they would have to move over exposed land on the way in.

Dawson patted Torterra's shell and smiled. "Good job Torterra."

The Pokemon smiled as it went about munching on the cut grass. Dawson walked back over to the camp and, more specifically, his backpack. Reaching inside one of the pouches he fumbled about for a few moments before pulling back his hand. Letting out a sigh he looked about the site and saw the culprit of his missing berries.

Near the edge of the field Marcus held out a berry towards the wall. The pouch which he got it from behind him in the cut grass. From the wall near where he squatted a Furret slowly approached. The boy remained as still as he could as he remember the previous times he gave the Furret some of Dawson's berries. He knew sudden movements often panicked the wild Pokemon.

The Furret slowly approached Marcus's hand from it's hiding spot near the edge of the field. Each step was taken tentatively while the boy waited as still as stone. Crawling up to Marcus's hand it finally took the berry and began to munch on the fruit in front of the young man. Finally daring to move Marcus placed his hand to the head of the Furret and gently stroked the Pokemon while it munched.

"See its not that bad being with a human..." He said softly.

"Hey Marcus what did I tell you about taking my berries!" Dawson called out to the boy as he approached.

Hearing the trainer the Furret stuffed the berry in it's mouth a bolted back to the edge of the field. Marcus saw the Pokemon watch him and the trainer from its hiding spot in the grass Darting further back in once Dawson go close. Letting out a grumble of irritation he stood up and looked back at the trainer.

"Dawson I almost had him!" He said with a hint of a whine.

The trainer cocked an eyebrow at him when he responded, "Almost had what?"

"The Pokemon, there's a Furret that's been following us. I finally got it so that he eats the berry without bolting or biting my hand." Marcus replied.

Dawson paused for a minute as he processed what he had just heard. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait... WHAT!? Marcus you've been using my berries in some attempt at taming a wild Pokemon that already showed aggressive behavior towards you? Are you shitting me?"

"Uhh... no?" Came the boy's worried response.

"Marcus, I've already explained back at the town what is going on right now. Which then led into me explaining why you can't do stuff like that! Dammit Marcus I thought you were smarter then this!" Dawson said picking up his bag of berries.

"But Dawson like I said its almost at the point where he's comfortable around me... if I can get a few more berries I'm sure he would listen to me!" The boy pleaded looking up at the trainer.

Dawson closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. On a certain level he wanted to see Marcus succeed at his endeavor. On another level every ounce of common sense was flat out telling him they didn't have the time, opportunity, or ability to do such a task. A brief tally was conducted within his mind about the pros and cons of such a situation. Eventually Dawson sighed and took his bag pulling out a small handful of the berries and giving them over to Marcus.

"Two requirements." He said leveling a stern look at the boy, "First, What you have there is all you get, if you can't get that Pokemon to accept you by the time they run out thats it. Secondly, Like the other rules I stated before you do this close to the campsite. If you hang out near the edge away from the perimeter you're going to get yourself killed. Now come on supper is going to be ready soon."

Nodding Marcus left one more berry on the ground where he was squatting and followed Dawson as they walked back to the tents.

Later that night

The Furret had spent most of the evening working on making the human seem like he was taming him. Several times he would approach knowing someone would walk by soon and then bolt as they approached. After that he played up his skittishness as someone approached laying flat on the ground and making himself as small as possible. The boy seemed to buy the act though as each time he changed his performance to reflect the illusion of progress the human seemed more and more excited.

Eventually night fell and the trainer had all the children wrap up what they were doing and head to bed. He only stayed up for about an hour later before heading to bed after the Pokemon nurse. From there the Furret noticed only two of the trainer's Pokemon keeping watch. The humanoid one that could predict the attack of the warring Pokemon and strange plant Pokemon he never saw before.

Crawling along the ground, keeping as low as possible, to hide in what was left of the grass. As the Furret made his way along the perimeter he listened to each tent he passed. Once he was sure the occupants were asleep he would move onto the next one. It was at the third tent that he stopped and held perfectly still at the sound of someone inside the tent thrashing and letting out a quick cry.

Inside the tent Joy had just opened her eyes only to feel them begin to well up with tears at the nightmare. Bringing both hands to her face she tried to wipe the tears from her face and only managed to smudge them as she started to cry. Sobbing quietly in the tent she had to constantly wipe her eyes on her sleeves to keep the tears from running down her face.

"Why... why... why" she repeated to herself as quietly as her sleepy frayed mind would allow hoping not to wake anyone else with her break down.

The Furret, realizing she was making enough noise to cover his movements, began to crawl towards the last tent knowing that the boy was in it with the other child. As it approached the tent it began wonder about the intelligence of this action. If he had more time he might have been able to space out his infiltration of the group but the warring Pokemon wanted these humans dead right away. The idea was simple enough, sleep next to the child and make it seem like he trusted him, and from there use him to get close to the trainer when the time of the attack arrived.

As his mind wondered about them he felt the sting of the cuts on his neck thinking of the Sandslash and other Pokemon how terrified he felt by them. His mind, in response, took his thoughts in an unexpected direction. As he readied himself to sneak into the tent he found a question firmly planted in his mind. Every time he felt ready to go inside the question seemed to worm it's way to the forefront of his mind. Over and over again he tired to move in only for the question to distract him further.

'Is this right?' The question asked.

'Wait... why am I even asking myself that. These humans are horrible beings. They screwed up my home and the homes of my friends with their roads and campgrounds and places to live. They capture Pokemon for their stupid sport and they all enjoy the fighting like barbarians.' He thought nodding to himself as he felt his logic score a decisive victory against the question.

With that pushed out of his mind he got ready to sneak into the tent. He had to be quick but quiet and stealthy as to not to attract the attention of the two Pokemon guards. Just as he was about to go he felt another question waylay him.

'But are these humans like that?' His mind asked

'Yes of course they are!' he replied,

'But how? These ones are all so young they couldn't have built the roads, ruined our home and captured our friends.' The question fought back using logic he thought was on his side.

'Then they'll grow up into that!' he thought.

'Do you know that?' The questioning part replied, 'Do you know how they'll grow up? Should sins of the parent be held to the child? Are these children deserving to be betrayed like this... just because they were born human? Is that right?'

The Furret felt himself squirm on the ground at the inner turmoil he was experiencing, 'It doesn't matter if its right! I have the power to get back at the humans for all they've done, I have the power to make sure they pay for their carelessness with the environment, I have the power to strike back for all the captured Pokemon. I have to do this, I have to...'

The response was simple and concise, 'Why?'

'B-because... because I...' His mind fumbled with the reason, 'I don't know why! But if I don't do this the other Pokemon... they'll kill me if I don't, I know it. I can't run I'm sure they'll hunt me down after killing everyone here tomorrow. I can't survive on my own in this world. I need friends, allies, protectors, ANYONE!'

'The Sandslash will protect you?' Replied the questioning voice.

'Y-Yes, If I help them with this...' He thought. 'The Sandslash and his group, the ones who are constantly fighting, the ones who only stopped killing their enemies because of strangers, the ones who almost killed me when I got close... the ones who... the ones who will kill me because I'm not, or ever will be, part of their group.'

At the moment his mind finally realized the Sandslash's group, along with the other Pokemon, would never accept him he let out a soft cry and buried his face in the ground. Staring into the dirt he felt the energy drain from him and a cold dread fill his heart. The sudden awareness of just how scared he was filled his mind. Away from home, surrounded by Pokemon far more powerful then he could ever be, caught in a situation he saw no way out of. He couldn't do anything but curl himself up into a ball on the grass and close his eyes.

A few moments later another question found its way though the anguish the Furret was feeling. 'What about the humans?'

Twitching slightly at the thought he closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, 'I can't, I don't want to be a trainer's Pokemon. I- I have to do this... I have to hope the other Pokemon can accept me. Its my only choice.'

With that the Furret steeled himself and darted into the tent flap. Gardevoir sighed as the Pokemon disappeared from sight. Her mind receded when the Furret filled himself with resolve at his course of action. She wanted to find out more about the impending attack but she couldn't push him too far otherwise he might have figured out that it was her asking the questions. She could only hope at this point that the Furret might let slip something about the apparent attack in it's mind tomorrow.

Torterra watched as the Furret went inside the tent then glanced over at Gardevoir. He couldn't tell what she was doing to it however from what he could see from the Furret's reactions whatever she did to him wasn't pleasant. The idea that she was so flagrantly invading peoples mind concerned him.


	11. Chapter 11

Pokemon belongs to who ever owns it.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 19th

Gardevoir was nervous. She was also exhausted, however and the knowledge of the impending attack made her ignore her fatigue in favor of nervousness. Despite that she refused to return to her Pokeball much to Dawson's chagrin. She couldn't risk being inside when the attack inevitably came.

She constantly kept monitoring the immediate future as the group traveled towards Blackthorn. Whenever she wasn't, her time was spent carefully watching the overgrown grass alongside the road. As they had gotten further and further from Agricola the farms had slowly given way to wilderness. The road thankfully still had a large amount of space before it got to the forest but the farmland was now replaced by tall unkempt grass on either side. She looked back at the rest of the party for a brief moment in between bouts of future sight.

Dawson clearly looked uneasy. Gardevoir was not surprised by this as he had been her trainer for almost five years now. Picking up on your Pokemon's mood was almost mandatory after spending so much time with them. She shamefully knew that her uneasiness was obvious to him. At times like these she cursed the lack of communication between Pokemon and humans. Shaking her head to clear away useless thoughts she went back to monitoring the immediate future leaving her desires to communicate with her trainer in the back of her mind.

Dawson was anxious. Waking up to find Marcus's wild Furret inside his tent sleeping next to him wasn't something he expected. He remembered how ecstatic the boy was, running around and showing off the nervous Pokemon to the rest of the camp. He knew Marcus had been working to tame the Furret for a while now. While Dawson wanted to keep the Pokemon inside a Pokeball his desires were overruled by Marcus after seeing the disgust the Furret displayed when prompted to go inside one. His mind was telling him how great it was that most Pokemon weren't always hostile to humans but his gut was telling him that the entire situation smelled worse than a Skuntank on a hot day.

He looked back at the children gathered around Marcus and the Furret. In response to Gardevoir's unease he opted to swap the position of the Mareep and kids. Now the Mareep walked in two parallel lines with the children in between. He was grateful the wooly Pokemon were well trained enough to follow his instructions without any difficulty. He hated to put the Mareep in between the children and whatever was out in the grass making Gardevoir nervous. He knew whatever had happened to Pokemon made humans the bottom of the food chain and the children were at the bottom of the bottom. Thankfully the Mareep didn't seem to mind being put between the children and potential danger.

Dawson adjusted his backpack and looked up at the sky. He couldn't see Togekiss as she flew overhead but he wasn't surprised by that. He knew she was up there since it was what he trained her to do. Once she could fly he made sure to teach her to always fly at an angle requiring anyone looking at her to stare directly into the sun. Shielding his eyes he wondered if his Pokemon training would have any effect these days when things were so different.

He had spent many weeks working with his Pokemon but in the three battles he was in so far nothing he had trained them in even came close to being useful. He then wondered about what was possibly good training for his Pokemon as well as when he would ever get a chance to. Before he could think about that further his thought processes was interrupted by Gardevoir letting out a warning cry from the front of the group.

Looking at Gardevoir Dawson wondered why she was calling out to them when nothing seemed to be happening around them. It took only a second for his brain to register the warning wasn't for the group but him specifically. That moment was all Furret needed to rush past Joy on the wagon, hop onto the Poneyta pulling cart, and leap at the trainers waist where his Pokeballs were held. In a single swift motion the Pokemon landed on Dawson and knocked away the three Pokeballs containing Gyarados, Torterra, and Poneyta. Before he could grab the Furret it leapt off him and darted under the wagon. In the next few seconds the area erupted into chaos.

From the grass along the road surged a wave of Pokemon towards the Mareep and Wagon. Both Luxray and Rapidash immediately rushed forwards to meet the incoming Pokemon. Luxray's mane crackled with electricity while Rapidash's fire flared a dangerous red as they prepared to stop the attack before it got to the cart and their trainer and the children. Gardevoir immediately began to move towards the wagon and her trainer hoping to get closer to him and the children to protect them.

As Gardevoir tried to get to her trainer to protect him she found her path obstructed by a large Arbok launching itself from the grass at her his fangs dripping with poison. As he bit down on the psychic Pokemon he let out a surprised cry as the body he bit into had no substance and vanished. His momentum carried him past the Pokemon double and crashing into the ground. Hissing he quickly recovered and looked about for his prey.

Gardevoir would have used this opportunity to get to her trainer only to have her progress impeded yet again. From down the road out of sight Sandslash had stood ready for his attack. As soon as it felt the tremors in the ground from the two groups of Pokemon attacking he curled into a ball and began rolling towards the wagon. His spikes digging into the ground allowing him greater traction and more speed as he became closer to a living cannonball with spikes then a Pokemon.

As he approached the Arbok coincidentally timed his attack on Gardevoir just as he was nearing. As the poison Pokemon flew though the Gardevoir double Sandslash nearly crushed the original under his momentum as he launched himself into the air at her. A quick dodge from Gardvoir and the Sandslash continued on it's path unimpeded. As he blew past the psychic Pokemon he closed in on his original target.

Nimbly dodging the ground Pokemon Gardevoir nearly was bit in two by the recovered Arbok. Another double taking her place as she avoided the attack. As she looked to where the Sandslash was heading her heart skipped a beat. Time slowed as she watched him rotate though the air directly towards her trainer. She felt each moment move painfully slow as she could only watch as her trainer was slammed into by the ground Pokemon.

Dawson barely managed bring his arms up to block the blow as the ground Pokemon slammed into him. Launched backwards, his arms bleeding from cuts caused by the Sandslash's spines, he crashed into one of the Ponyta pulling the wagon. Bouncing off the Pokemon's side he hit the dirt with a thud and lay on his back the wind completely knocked out of him. Both his arms felt broken and the bleeding, while not severe, was distracting his mind from trying to calm down enough to catch his breath.

The Sandslash smiled as he landed on his legs. His spines dripping with Dawson's blood. In a single stroke he buried on of his claws into the dirt road. With the force of a small explosion the ground under the Poneyta burst upwards and the two fire Pokemon began sinking into the dirt their legs being crushed by the ground surrounding them as it began to pull them under.

With the two fire Pokemon occupied with their legs getting crushed Sandslash pulled free his claw and his attention focused on the trainer and Pokemon nurse on the wagon. Both claws began glowing as he prepared to bisect the wounded trainer. Leaping into the air he raised his claws over his head. His dramatic gesture proved to be a flawed move as his body was slammed to the side by a very large, very white, very angry Togekiss. With an enraged chirp Togekiss sent the Sandslash flying past the wave of Pokemon approaching Luxray and quickly followed towards the grass intent to end this Pokemon's life for daring to harm her trainer.

Luxray didn't stop when she saw the Sandslash fly past her head or when reached the approaching line of hostile Pokemon. Instead she, after catching an Ekans in her jaws and biting it in half, launched herself into the center mass of Pokemon. As the Pokemon surged around her she calmly discharged all the energy she had stored in her mane and sent a wave of electricity outwards. Each Pokemon let out a cry as the lightning hit them. The ones with fur suffering the most as the bolts not only burned their skin and blackened their limbs but their fur immediately caught on fire roasting them alive from the inside and outside. Even ground types like the Sandshrew found no protection from their type difference as the lightning shot though them and boiled their insides immediately.

The first wave of Pokemon fell around Luxray, some burning and others twitching as the shocks passed though their bodies causing their bodies to spasm uncontrollably. The Pokemon who survived the initial lightning discharge stopped dead in their tracks as Luxray fixed them all with a terrifying glare. It was when she discharged another wave of lighting, killing every Pokemon tough enough to survive the first surge of energy, that their thoughts turned from being able to win this fight to hoping to survive long enough to escape. On the opposite side the other attacking Pokemon were having no better luck.

Rapidash had charged out and met the wave of Pokemon as soon as she could. Rearing up she brought her hoofs down on the closest attackers, a pair of hapless Nidorinos, and let her hoofs crush their bodies under them. Being tougher then diamonds meant that their poisonous spines never even had a chance to injure her. As she continued to stomp the attacking Pokemon into bloody smears on the ground, her legs and hoofs becoming covered in gore and blood, she never noticed the rapidly approaching patches of shifting tall grass.

From the grass behind the attacking Pokemon came several Sandshrew. Their bodies rolled into a ball and spinning towards the wagon. Three of them separated from the others as they all launched themselves into the air. Flying though the air the Sandshrew crashed into the side of the wagon with enough force to shift it in the ground several feet. The Ponyta attached cried out in pain as the yoke pulled on their trapped bodies. The three that had separated from the group angled their attack into the side of Rapidash.

With a painful cry Rapidash felt the three Sandshrew hit her side. Several loud cracking sounds were heard as she stumbled a few steps to the side. The attacking Pokemon began to press their advantage against her as she tried to recover from the painful blow. Several Nidorino approached from the side opposite her their spines glowing a bright purple. With the speed of a machine gun they launched dozens of thin purple spines at Rapidash. The pins stabbing into her side Rapidash let out another cry of pain. On her other side the Sandshrew readied their next attack, spinning in place and surrounding themselves with a blue aura ring.

Before they could launch their attacks however several bolts of lightning shot though them and the attacking Pokemon. Three of the Mareep had separated from the group to rush to the aid of Rapidash. The Mareep had been mostly left alone by the attack, the Pokemon not regarding them as a threat, and the three rushing to the aid of Rapidash were intent on making them regret that decision.

Rubbing their wool together one of the Mareep charged and launched another bolt of lightning at their attackers. The bolt surged though the nearest Sandshrew causing it's body to twitch collapse in a pain filled paralyzed heap. The others immediately turned their Gyro ball attack towards the fluffy Pokemon. Spinning towards the Mareep their attack was met by another bolt as the wooly Pokemon took turns launching attacks and rubbing together to charge electricity.

While two rubbed their wool together to charge the third would send out a bolt of lighting. After attacking it would begin building a charge while another would send out another shock. This combination allowed the Mareep to constantly rain down an endless series of shocks towards the attacking Pokemon. As the attackers reeled under this assault Rapidash took this moment to steady herself.

The pain she was in was unbearable as her bones were broken, her breathing was difficult, and the poison was running though her system like hell fire. Regardless she mustered up as much strength and breath as she could. Backing away a few steps towards the cart she let out a massive gout of flame. The fire swept though the attacking Pokemon engulfing them in an incinerating wave of of heat and death.

Sweeping though the Pokemon many of the smaller Rattata died almost instantly their bodies bursting into flame. The tougher ones were simply lit on fire and left to burn to death slowly, writhing in agony as the blaze consumed them. The sweeping flame even reached the tall grass lighting it and catching any retreating Pokemon in a conflation of fire. Any further back then that found their retreat disoriented and confused as the smoke from the burning gas flowed back towards them and watered their eyes and burned their lungs.

Rapidash wheezed out ragged breaths. Her entire body screamed in pain and agony as she tried to remain standing. Feeling her strength start to fail she began to lean to the side slowly falling. Before she hit the ground her body was suddenly braced by Joy's back as she struggled to keep the Pokemon from collapsing. Leaning against Rapidash, confidant that the Pokemon was heavy enough that her own weight wouldn't tip her the other way, she pulled out one of the antidote capsules. Snapping into the medical hypo she injected the anti-venom directly into Rapidash's side.

Popping out the empty vial she fitted another one, her legs feeling like they were beginning to buckle, and injected the anti-venom closer to the neck of the rasping Pokemon. Before she could inject another one her legs began to cramp and give under the weight of Rapidash. Crying out she reached into her pouch one last time, as the weight began to force her down, and pulled out her Pokeball summoning Chansey.

Before she fell herself the weight of Rapidash lessened and she felt her legs give out sending her sliding down the Pokemon's side to the ground. Looking up her face was hit with several droplets of blood as she watched Dawson lean against Rapidash. His arms were limply hanging from his side, the blood coming from the cuts all over them, and he was propping up the Fire Pokemon with his shoulder.

"Dawson, your arm!" Joy said looking at the thin streams of blood coming from the wounds.

"Later Joy!" He replied though gritted teeth, "Get to Rapidash's other side, The Poison pins are still in her!"

Nodding and doing her best to stand up on weakened legs she stumbled to the other side of the Pokemon. Looking at her other side she let out a gasp as she saw the poisonous pins still sticking out of Rapidash. Going next to the Pokemon she pulled out a pair of medical gloves and reached for the first pin.

"This is going to hurt Rapidash." She said gingerly touching the first one.

With a smooth steady motion she pulled out the first pin. The sudden shock of pain caused Rapidash to let out a cry but the fire Pokemon resolutely held as still as it could. As Joy reached for the next one she heard Dawson whisper reassurances to his Pokemon companion. Realizing there were still many more to go she grit her teeth and began to pull out one pin after another. Each one removed caused a cry of pain from the Pokemon but she continued on intent to end the suffering as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile Gardevoir was deftly dodging attack after attack from the now enraged Arbok. The area was quickly becoming drenched in acid, gunk, and poison as he launched everything he had at her. Anytime he hit with his attacks a second later the double would vanish and infuriate the Arbok even more. It aggravated him even more that his opponent wasn't even paying him that much attention.

Gardevoir was still dodging Arbok's attacks as she tried to concentrate on seeing the future, helping out the others with her psychic powers, and get closer to her trainer to help heal him. Unfortunately by trying to do everything at once she succeeded in doing nothing at all. Every dodge delayed the battle, every bit of help was too small, even seeing the future was worthless as she couldn't act on it.

Eventually, after narrowly dodging another lunge from Arbok, she came to the realization she'd have to finish one thing first. Turning her full attention to her opponent she focused her psychic powers and in a single thought trapped Arbok in her telekinetic grip. With a wave of her arm she raised the Arbok into the air and slammed it down into the ground. Several times she repeated this action bringing the poison Pokemon crashing to the ground over and over again.

Eventually she raised him up and stretched him from tip to tail. Drawing him taut Arbok let out a gurgled painful cry. With a simple gesture he was then compacted into himself no bigger then a basketball. Letting out one last scream it's body was pulped as she crushed him to death. With one last wave of her hand she sent the Arbok ball flying towards the tree line. The body decompressing once it got far enough away from the group. Without bothering to look back Gardevoir headed to the wagon assessing the situation.

Luxray had finished off the attackers on her end, Rapidash looked hurt but Dawson and Joy were both up and actively helping her and Chansey was nearby ready to heal the fire Pokemon. The children were surrounded by the Mareep still. A few Pokemon bodies lay scattered around them a testament to those stupid enough to think the Mareep would be easy prey. A fire still burned in the grass nearby but thankfully it wasn't burning near them and the wind was still pushing away the smoke.

It was after she let out a sigh of relief that a cold fear gripped her for the second time that day. Togekiss was nowhere in sight. Sending her mind out she signaled to Luxray.

'Luxray where's Togekiss?' She asked urgently.

'She was in the grass ove-LOOKOUT!" The lightning Pokemon shouted mentally.

Gardevoir was neatly bisected by the Sandslash as it dove past her. The double falling in two as the original moved outside the range of the ground Pokemon. Moving past her it leapt at Rapidash and the humans tending to it. Before it could land the blow however it's body was sent flying once again, this time by Luxray as it crashed into the Pokemon, it's spines digging into her skin.

'Gardevoir Togekiss is in the grass hurt! I'll take care of him, you take care of her.' The lightning Pokemon called out mentally.

Gardevoir hesitated only for a moment as she watched the two Pokemon square off. Moving though the grass her mind connected with Togekiss. Her fears only grew when she felt how weak the flying Pokemon's thoughts were. Zeroing in on her location she moved though the grass feeling her healing aura already glowing.

Meanwhile Sandslash slowly circled around Luxray as she growled at the ground Pokemon. One of his claws was drenched in blood as well as his spines. Bringing it up he licked some of Togekiss's blood away. Savoring the taste he readied himself for an attack only to find Luxray had beaten him to the punch.

With a burst of speed she had closed in on the Sandslash as he licked the blood from his claws. Her mane was charged with electricity and she felt that energy flow though her and into her mouth. Approaching the Sandslash, as it launched a clumsy attack trying to get her away, she opened her jaw revealing her fangs as electricity arced though her mouth. Focusing purely on her target she dodged the clumsy claw strike and closed in on the Sandslash. In a single motion she dived towards the ground Pokemon and lunged at his neck feeling her fangs sink into the skin of the Pokemon.

Sandslash struggled as much as he could trying to claw off Luxray to no avail. He tried to fight back but found himself pushed down to the side as she pinned him to the ground and braced her paws on his body. With a violent pull she ripped off the throat of Sandslash flinging the torn flesh to the side leaving nothing but a gaping hole. His struggles growing weaker as he lost both blood and air the Sandslash spent his last few moments weakly flopping about on the ground. Spitting out as much of the Pokemon's blood as it could Luxray looked over to her trainer as he and Joy tended to Rapidash.

Joy had frozen for a moment at the sight of the Sandslash bearing down on them. She recovered quickly at a prompting form Chansey and went back to removing the pins from Rapidash's side. With the last poisonous pin fallen to the ground Joy reached inside her pouch and pulled out the anti-venom and medical hypo and applied another dose of antidote to the fire Pokemon.

"OK... now Chansey use soft boiled." She said with relief.

Nodding her Pokemon drew a small orb of light from her pouch. Bringing it closer it grew as it neared Rapidash. Softly touching the Pokemon with the orb Chansey watched at it enveloped Rapidash in a soft egg shaped sphere of light. A few seconds later the glowing egg dissipated and the wounds on the fire Pokemon had mostly closed. Taking in a much less painful breath Rapidash slowly stood up with her own strength. Now leaning against his Pokemon Dawson let out a sigh of relief and began taking a head count.

A glowing shape caught his attention and he looked over into the tall grass. Seeing Gardevoir, Dawson grimaced as he began walking over to the psychic Pokemon. Moving though the grass he moved up behind her and felt his body stiffen at the sight before him.

Togekiss was currently surrounded in a glowing pink aura as Gardevoir struggled to close the gaping wound across her chest. The cut was over in inch in width and stretched from her lower body to her shoulder just above the wing. Blood pooled on the ground around her as the psychic Pokemon pushed herself to heal Togekiss. Gardevoir's aura glowed like a flare as she put all her energy into saving her friend.

"C-Chansey." Dawson called out weakly.

The Pokemon looked over from where she had just treated Luxray's wounds and began waddling towards the trainer. As soon as she saw Togekiss's condition she rushed over and pulled another orb of light from her pouch. Adding to the healing abilities of Gardevoir the wound began to close with greater speed. Dawson watched with concern, his hands clenching and unclenching despite the pain, as the two Pokemon worked.

"Dawson..." Joy said jolting him out of his shock. "Stop... Please."

Dawson looked over at her and realized two small pools of blood had started to form under his arms. Blinking several times he felt himself start to loose his footing from either the blood loss or the shock. Before he could fall Joy reached over and grabbed his shoulders, steadying him.

"She'll be alright," The Pokemon nurse reassured him. "Look the wound is just about closed already."

"But she's not moving..." Replied the trainer weakly.

"She lost a lot of blood, she needs rest. Gardevoir can you bring Togekiss over to the cart?" Joy asked receiving a nod from the Pokemon, "Chansey I need you to use one more soft boiled on Dawson."

Joy stepped away and the fatigued Pokemon nodded pulling out one more orb of light. Within a few moments the trainer was surrounded by the glowing white egg and receiving Chansey's healing. Joy let out a sigh of relief as Dawson emerged from the orb, still pale from either the shock or blood loss, looking healthier. The cuts on his arm gone replaced by several new scars from where the wounds used to be.

"Dawson go back to the cart," She said gingerly leading the trainer back to the wagon.

"Joy! The Poneyta are almost dug out, and look at this!" Called Marcus from near the mentioned Pokemon.

Joy looked over while she lead Dawson to a spot where he could sit down. The children had begun to dig out the trapped Pokemon. The ground was still soft which assisted the children as they dug around the Poneyta's legs. Torterra, along with Gyarados, had been let out of their Pokeball's and both currently helped with the task of cleaning up after the battle.

Torterra was doing it's best to help the children dig out the fire Pokemon. Taking mouthfuls of dirt it worked to loosen the ground so the children could dig out the trapped Pokemon without hurting their already injured legs. Gyarados was simply pouring water down on the fire spreading along the grass. He had gotten to the fire early enough to prevent it from spreading and turning into an uncontrollable blaze.

Joy leaned Dawson next to the wagon, the trainer never breaking eye contact with his Togekiss now resting next to Poochyena. Walking over to Marcus the Pokemon nurse was greeted with the sight of the Mareep all huddled around three new Pokemon. As she approached she realized that they weren't new Pokemon but three of the Mareep had managed to evolve.

Their wool had receded slightly around their bodies leaving only mane of pure white wool. Their skin had adopted a pink hue and they three Pokemon currently stood on their hind legs. The orb on their tail had also changed to a clear light blue. The Pokemon looked out at Joy as she neared.

"Flaaffy" All three of them called out at the approaching Pokemon Nurse.

"They evolved right after the battle!" Marcus exclaimed gleefully. "This is great isn't it?"

"Yeah I'm sure they'll be a big help." Joy replied smiling at the boy.

"Marcus get over here!" Dawson yelled to the boy from where he was leaning aginst the cart.

"uhh..." The boy said nervously.

"You better go, Marcus." Joy said.

Giving him a gentle nudge towards Dawson she watched solemnly as he approached him. Marcus walked up to the trainer and immediately felt him staring him down. Wordlessly signaling Torterra he and his Pokemon began walking towards the woods. Following nervously Marcus kept up with Dawson as they approached the edge of the Forest with Torterra.

Stepping inside the boy felt his heart beating in his throat as they quietly moved out of sight of the wagon. Satisfied with the distance Dawson turned and leveled a cold stare at the boy. Torterra standing guard the trainer looked down at the boy and crossed his scarred arms. All around them it was completely silent, any Pokemon in the area keeping quiet at the presence of Torterra or possibly feeling Dawson was currently more dangerous. The minutes passed in silence as Marcus intently focused on the ground only occasionally looking up to see if the trainer was still staring him down.

"Tell me... in your own words," Dawson began breaking the silence around them, "Just how badly you fucked up."

"I- I-..." Marcus said nervously shifting on his feet, "I guess... it was the Furret." Silence was his only reply, "That attacked you. B-But how could I have known?"

"The Furret was your responsibility Marcus!" The trainer snapped at his excuse. "You were the one who was trying to tame him, you were the one wanted him to stay with us, you were the one who allowed it to stay outside it's Pokeball! Two of my Pokemon nearly died back there, one still might after the damage she took."

"I- I'm sorry..." Marcus sniffed starting to tear up, "I didn't know."

"That is never an excuse for a Pokemon trainer." Dawson said coldly, "When you capture a Pokemon it becomes your responsibility. Everything it does is reflected in you and every bit of trouble it causes is your fault."

At this the boy broke down and began crying. He fell to his knees and tried to wipe away the tears while sobbing. Kneeling down next to him Dawson looked the boy in the eyes with a sad expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Marcus said between sobs. "I'm so sorry."

"Marcus" Dawson said softly. "I'm sorry too. I'm to blame for this as well. I shouldn't have let you try to tame him, I shouldn't have let it stay in camp, I should have made it go inside it's Pokeball until we were somewhere safe... But I didn't and I'm sorry for that."

Marcus continued to cry letting words out between sobs. "I didn't want your Pokemon to get hurt."

"I know." Replied Dawson.

"I don't want to sleep in tents or go to Blackthorn." Marcus said.

"I know." Replied Dawson.

"I don't want to be scared of Pokemon. I want them to be my friends." Marcus said.

"I know." Replied Dawson.

"I want to go home I want to be with my mom and dad, but I can't because they died and it hurts so much." Marcus sobbed to the trainer.

"I know and I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you why this happened and what we can do to fix it." Dawson said to the boy, "But I don't know the why or the how of this. All I know is that I have to keep all of you alive. Marcus I need everyone's help to do that though. Your help, the Pokemon's, Joy's, and everyone else as well. I know its sad you can't trust wild Pokemon anymore and I'm sorry I couldn't save your parents."

Marcus only managed to cry in response to Dawson's words. For several long minutes Dawson waited as he wept. Slowly the crying abated. Grabbing the boy's arm Dawson stood up and lifted the him to his feet.

"Marcus I don't know how long this will last but I plan to keep you all safe despite what's going on. Next time we meet that Furret you know I can't allow it to travel with us."

"uh-huh" The boy said nodding and rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry Dawson..."

"I know, I'm sorry for being so harsh, I just want you to understand what's happening so we don't do it again." The trainer said leading the boy back to the wagon and the others. "Lets get back to the cart and the others. We shouldn't stay here long."

By the time the two got back to the cart the Ponyta had been dug out and Chansey was finished applying soft boiled to the Pokemon. Joy gave a questioning look at Dawson when she saw that Marcus had been crying but was waved off with a 'later' from the trainer. As Dawson returned Rapidash and Gyarados to their Pokeballs the group headed out once again towards Blackthorn.

Joy had just finished putting to be the last of the children at the campsite. Sighing she walked over to the small campfire one of the Ponyta had started and sat down on a nearby rock. A pile of logs nearby were stacked neatly for whoever was on watch to keep the blaze going. The evening had passed by uneventfully with Dawson's Pokemon keeping watch made most think twice about attacking them.

The camp was situated near a large river that flowed though the forest they were currently traveling though. The tents had been arrayed with their backs to the water to prevent being surrounded. Rachael had told the Pokemon nurse that the river was likely one of the many that flowed though the area into the lake or rage. Dawson had appreciated the fact when he let Gyarados out to rest in the water.

Both Luxray and Gardevoir made their opinions of resting inside their Pokeballs clear to the trainer when he went to recall them. However unlike at the beginning of the day Dawson wasn't going to listen to their protests at all this time. He recalled both of them and put them near his pack intent on letting them get some sleep instead of going another night without sleep. Rapidash and Togekiss both remained outside due to Joy wanting to keep an eye on them should something happen. Togekiss rested within the wagon with Rapidash grazing nearby before sleeping on a pile of grass and leaves made by the children.

At the sound of rustling branches Joy looked up into one of the nearby trees. She watched as the laves shifted and shook as Dawson began climbing down from his perch. A few minutes later the trainer hopped off the last branch and landed on the ground with a thud.

"Togekiss and Rapidash alright Joy?" The trainer asked.

An exasperated sigh came from the Nurse, "Dawson this is the third time tonight you've asked about them." Joy replied, "They're the same as when you asked before climbing up that tree."

Blushing Dawson sat down next to her near the fire. "Sorry... I'm just worried." He said.

"I've looked over both of them. They just need to rest for a couple of days and then they'll be fine." She said putting a hand on his arm, "It be sweet if it wasn't so annoying."

"Sorry Joy, they're just really important to me." Dawson said, "Not that my other Pokemon aren't. They're all important to me in one way or another."

"Tell me about them." Joy said.

"Well I'm not sure if you noticed but Togekiss is only about five years old now." Dawson replied, "I got her from Cynthia the Sinnoh Pokemon Champion shortly after starting my Pokemon journey. From an egg I raised her to how she is now, although finding a shiny stone to allow her to evolve was a bit of a pain, and seeing as she flies me everywhere I trust her completely."

Joy looked over at fire Pokemon near the cart, "What about Rapidash?" she asked.

"When I was younger I didn't like Pokemon that much," Dawson said, "Rapidash, back then she was a Ponyta, was pretty assertive when trying be friends with me. This was before I even got my starter. Once I had Torterra and made my way back to Oreburgh I made sure to find her and bring her along on my journey."

"They sound nice." Joy said. "Did you see anything when you were up in the tree?"

"A whole lot actually, and not much at the same time." Dawson said. "We're finally getting close to the mountains and Blackthorn as well. When I looked though the binoculars, however, I couldn't make much of anything out. I think I saw light but it was hard to tell though the haze in that area."

"What if... What if the city is like Agricola?" Joy asked, "What if everyone's dead there too?"

"Then we figure out another city to go to an head that way." Dawson replied.

"Do you think there is anyplace safe?" Joy asked.

"Its too soon to say..." Dawson said, "For now let's worry about just getting to Blackthorn and getting some sleep. If we spend too much time out here talking we'll be dead on our feet tomorrow."

Standing up Dawson headed over to the shared tent. Joy lingered a moment watching the fire before standing up as well. Walking over to Rapidash and Togekiss she checked over them one last time before heading to the tent and getting ready to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. I wonder how many Pokemon require humans to live that will go extinct if Ho-oh wipes them all out. Mons like Voltorb, Magnemite, and Porygon don't strike me as the kinds of Pokemon that occur naturally in the wild.

August 20th

Dawson felt his awareness beginning to focus as he felt his dreams subside and his mind start to wake up from it's sleep. A constant soft beeping was drilling it's way into his mind as his Poketch's alarm steadily applied a wake up call to the trainer from his arm. He opened his groggy eyes and looked up at the cloth roof of the tent he and Nurse Joy slept in. Slowly shifting his arms up he rubbed his eyes and sat up in his sleeping bag. Bringing his hand up to his face he turned off his alarm and let the silence of the morning fill the air once again.

Climbing out of his sleeping back he fumbled around the base of the tent where his feet were just previously resting and pulled up the zipper to the entrance. Half crawling half walking out of the tent Dawson felt the morning fog brush against his face and body. Climbing out of the tent he grabbed his shoes from inside, sliding his feet inside without bothering to tie up the laces. As he stood outside the tent he could hear mumbling and shifting sounds from behind him as Joy started to wake from his movements.

Dawson walked over to the wagon, where most of their supplies had been stored, at least as efficiently as someone as sleepy as him could manage. Passing the other tents that were still silent indicating to him that the children were thankfully still snoozing. He was used to waking up earlier then the others due to his constant traveling. As he walked he made a quick headcount of his Pokemon and the one's brought from the town.

Luxray was nearby sleeping near the smoldering campfire. Dawson couldn't see his Gyarados but he could hear the water Pokemon as it swam in the nearby river. He was thankful for Gyarado's presence since not many Pokemon would even venture close to one, much less make hostile actions anywhere near it. The Mareep and Flaaffy were still sleeping, like the children in their tents, their bodies bunched together to stay warm.

It was only when Dawson approached the wagon did he stop. Rapidash was sleeping next to the cart like everyone else this morning. What caught the trainers attention was along the fire Pokemon's side. Walking closer he examined the small wounds that now dotted the side of Rapidash.

Each one a small scabbed wound that was easily distinguished by the red of the irritated skin around it. Rapidash's entire side was covered with several dozen of the inflamed wounds. Dawson put his hand along Rapidash's neck and felt moisture along her skin either from the Pokemon sweating as she rested or the morning dew. Stepping back he turned and headed towards his tent.

Lifting up the flap he crawled back inside and gave the still occupied sleeping bag a soft poke in it's side. A soft mumble come from inside and the contents shift about without any sings of actual waking. Rolling his eyes he poked the side again this time using his voice to assist in the waking of his tent mate.

"Joy come on," He said, "I need you to get moving."

Dawson wasn't able to understand the grumpy reply that came from the sleeping bag in response to the repeated pokes. Letting out a sigh he grabbed the bottom end of the sleeping back and proceed to yank the sleeping gear from around the sleeping Pokemon nurse. A shocked cry and rapid fumbling from Joy as she tried to stop the trainer from pulling away her cocoon of warmth.

"DAWSON!" She cried out.

"Ahh good you're awake." He replied avoiding the death glare the nurse gave him, "I hate to wake you this early, as entertaining as it was, but somethings wrong with Rapidash."

"Whaa-" Joy started before getting cut off by a yawn, "-aaat? Somethings wrong with Rapidash?"

"Yes somethings wrong with her." Dawson said again, "The wounds she got from yesterday look like they've opened up again or something."

Joy had finally started moving like she wasn't half asleep as she tied her disheveled hair behind her in a braid, "What but Gardevoir and Chansey took care of that." She said.

"Well apparently not well enough." He said heading back outside.

A few minutes later Joy stepped out of the tent into the cool morning air. Dawson looked up from where he was kneeling next to his Pokemon at her exit from the tent. The Pokemon nurse let out another yawn as she walked over to Rapidash. It took several long moments for Joy to register what she was looking at when she began to examine the fire Pokemon.

"These wounds should be closed." She said looking at Dawson.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Didn't we get Chansey and Gardevoir to treat them and then gave Rapdiash an antidote for the poison?" He replied.

"It looks like they've reopened or never closed." She said looking back to the Pokemon, "It also definitely looks like the wounds have been infected."

Dawson looked up towards the tents when he noticed movement from the camp. The children were starting to waken and climb out into the cool morning air. Giving one last worried look to his Pokemon he started towards the burnt out fire they had the night before.

"I have to start getting breakfast ready. Take care of Rapidash for me Joy." He said.

She gave his back a worried look before returning her attention to Rapidash, "I'll try," She whispered.

Shortly after breakfast the children began to pack up the campsite under the supervision of Dawson. The advice was few and far between from the trainer as the he had been hammering into the children the basics over the last few days. Today he had began to give out more compliments as the kids had finally started to put effort into the jobs he gave them. He was pleased with their progress but knew their motivation was less due to his words and likely due to the attack yesterday.

It wasn't the first fight with Pokemon they had been a part of, but unlike their encounter with the Yanma and Yanmega they were fully aware in this fight. Last time they spent most of the battle crying or cowering in fear, this time they saw exactly what was going on. He didn't know what the end result would be but he could tell the idea of fighting Pokemon on such a lethal level was starting to seep into their heads. No amount of mind calming from Gardevoir could stop it. Dawson let out a sigh as he left the children to continue packing.

"Mr. Dawson I can't get this tent to fold up." Rachael said drawing the trainers attention.

Walking over Dawson knelt down next to the frustrated girl and started unfolding the mess she made of her tent, "If you find you're having issues with folding up your tent this far into it, it's likely that you did something wrong near the start." He said helping her begin again.

"Uggh I hate this." She said with a annoyed tone, "Everyone else is getting it."

"Hey you worry about it too much." Dawson said smiling at the girl, "Besides once we get to Blackthorn I doubt you'll have to do much tent packing afterwards."

"Wish we could have stayed with our parents." The girl replied mournfully, "I hate leaving without knowing how their doing."

"Wait didn't I tell you?" The trainer asked giving the girl a confused look.

"You said... something about... our..." Rachael furrowed her brow trying to think about what the trainer said.

Dawson realized she was starting to fight against what Gardevoir did to her mind and quickly changed the subject, "So you got any family we should contact when we get to Blackthorn. He said briskly.

She paused for a moment as her face becoming more relaxed, "What... oh yeah I have an aunt in Blackthorn. She's lived their almost my entire life. Sometimes we visited her over the summer." She said.

Dawson finished helping her fold up the tent and let her start packing it away on her own, "Well do you think she'll let the others stay if they don't have someone there?" He asked.

"Yeah of course she would she's really nice like that." Rachael said.

"Thats a relief." Dawson said, "You look like you've got things well in hand, I'm going to bring Joy her breakfast."

"Wish we could have something other then oatmeal every day." She said mournfully.

"Hey it was the easiest thing to carry and cook from the town, if you want something else give me a hand cooking next time." He replied.

Walking back over to the fire he lifted the black lid. Stirring the small pot as it hovered near the fire, held up by a tripod. With a spare bowl he spooned some of the simmering oatmeal into it and carefully placed the lid back on. With the contents he walked over to the Pokemon Nurse as she sat near his Rapidash.

As he approached Joy he looked over her shoulder at Rapidash, "She doesn't look much better." Dawson said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Rapidash was still laying on her side her eyes were open but glazed over as if the fire Pokemon was staring at something in the distance. The numerous wounds along her side hadn't grown but the swelling had increased. Small scabs had formed over them making the wounds clearly noticeable at a passing glance. Her flaming mane was smaller now, the fire burning weakly like that of a campfire that needed more wood. Rapidash's entire body was also covered in a thin layer of sweat.

With a frustrated expression Joy looked up at the trainer taking the small bowl of oatmeal, "Dawson I don't know what's wrong with Rapidash." She said, "The wounds should be healing, I already tried using Chansey's soft boiled and it closed the wounds but they reopened after a little bit. I kept Chansey from doing it again since if the wounds keep opening then healing they might get worse. The shot of antidote I gave her after you left only seemed to abate the symptoms. I'm hesitant to give her anything else to avoid complications with mixing medications, she's also already is at the limit for the basic antidote since yesterday's battle."

Dawson knelt down next to Joy, "What do you think is happening to her?" He asked.

Joy sighed while looking down at her breakfast, "If I had to guess I'd say it was the poison sting she got hit with yesterday. The poison might have changed after all the Pokemon started getting lethal." She said eating a spoonful of oatmeal.

"But that's what the antidote does, right? It... well I have no clue how it works... but you give it to a poisoned Pokemon and it takes care of it, right?" He asked.

Joy finished her mouthful before responding, "Normally yes but then again normally Pokemon attacks don't hurt humans." She said looking at Rapidash, "All this is new to me Dawson. I treated the infection and fever as best I could but right now we can't have Rapiash moving the cart, she's far too weak. I think it would only make things worse if we put too much strain on her body."

"Well that's a given." Dawson said, "I'm sure the Ponyta can handle it for today, although it'll probably slow us down a little bit."

Dawson withdrew Rapidash's Pokeball from his belt, aiming it at her as she lay on the ground. With a flash of light she was successfully recalled and he placed the ball back onto his belt. With his Pokemon, hopefully resting with the confines of the device, he walked over to the cart and checked the inside. His curiosity was met with a series of rapid barks as a dark grey blur leapt to the edge of the cart and starting snapping at the trainer.

The Poochyena was clearly up and about as it continued to bark at Dawson. Before the trainer could react, in a way that wasn't falling back on his ass in surprise, Joy stepped forwards in front of the Pokemon. The Pokemon shifted from barking to low growling as the nurse approached him.

Slowly, tentatively, she reached a hand forwards towards him. In her palm was a small Pokemon treat she had pulled from her uniform. Flattening his ears the Poochyena continued to growl while Joy held out her offering to him. From behind them Dawson watched as he slowly and cautiously began eating the offered treat from the nurse's hand. Taking a step forwards he was immediately notified by the resumed growling of the Poochyena that such an action wouldn't be allowed.

"Ok... Joy I'm going to go finish packing up the stuff..." He said taking a step back so the Pokemon could continue eating, "Let me know how Togekiss is doing when your done feeding Barky his treat."

With that Dawson left the Pokemon nurse to tend to the temperamental Poochyena. It took only a little bit longer for him to get the kids organized, their attention span to boring but necessary jobs could be measured in seconds, and working on finishing the cleanup of the campsite. He was relived to know they could take care of the needs of the Mareep by themselves at least. Dawson didn't know much of anything about the maintenance of farm Pokemon and the kids at least could manage that.

While the last bits of work was being finished he recalled Luxray and headed over to the nearby river to check on his Gyarados. As he approached the river he looked about for his water Pokemon. It was large river, one of many in the area that lead to the lake of rage, which was a heaven sent as Dawson had grown concerned about keeping his Pokemon inside the Pokeball for such an extended period of time.

Almost in response to his thoughts a large mass of water rose from near the rivers center. Dawson knew it was Gyarados but he still felt relived when the water around it broke ad the blue skinned form of his Pokemon was visible. That relief sank down to his stomach when he noticed a limp form hanging from his clenched jaws. Dawson hadn't seen him eat other Pokemon before, he knew Gyarados like his did and it was something he'd likely have to get used too, he didn't expect it to make him this nauseous however. It certainly didn't help when Gyarados finished off his meal and Dawson saw it was an unfortunate Quagsire that had just become breakfast.

"Well I hope you got your fill Gyarados." Dawson said as his Pokemon approached.

A flash of light and the water Pokemon returned to his Pokeball and Dawson started on his way back to the others, "I guess that means the water was clean to drink." He said to himself.

Within a half an hour the group had begun to move out from their camp site. With Luxray returned to her Pokeball everyone headed out. Dawson choosing Gardevoir and Torterra as the wagon guards today. The children had once again walked between the two lines of Mareep, with the only change being two of the three Flaffy at the back and the last one in the front of the line.

Togekiss rested in the cart as they traveled down the road towards Blackthorn. Following Joy's suggestion Dawson kept her in the cart, telling her to rest for today and no flying. She had been looked over by Joy and deemed able to but the Pokemon nurse suggested another day of rest. The cut along her torso had been healed but the scar remained and both heal pulse and Soft boiled did not appear to replace lost blood.

The group made their way along the road as it wound it's way alongside the river they camped at. Dawson found himself surprised at the relative peace around them as they traveled across the land. Short of a few Rattata and other small Pokemon that bolted as soon as they saw the large group they made good time towards Blackthorn. Dawson even toyed with the idea of getting to the city before nightfall. That idea quickly found itself refuted as they group crested a hill which gave them a clear view of the surrounding area.

From where Dawson stood he could see the road continue onwards for a few miles before heading into a forest. He couldn't follow where it lead but saw the river cut though the trees and continue though unimpeded by the woodland. Deeper into the woods Dawson saw a large bridge crossing the river which he surmised was connected to the road they currently traveled on.

What dashed his ideas for getting to blackthorn was the large mass of webs that not only covered nearly the entire forest but a large swath of the ground in it's immediate area. The sheer mass of webs made the forest look like it was covered in a layer of floating dust. What parts of the cloud of silk that was near the ground formed a coat of dirty white over everything near the forest, from bushes to grass and even the road the group was panning on traveling on.

Dawson slowed and stopped at the sight, bringing the cart to a stop as well, and stared dumbfounded at the forest. Joy had walked up next to prepared to ask why they stopped when she saw the sight before her. Like the trainer she could only stare at the webs off in the distance.

"Well... that's a lot of webs." Dawson muttered to himself.

He was about to say something else when his shock was vocalized more accurately by the children as they came around the cart. Their reactions ranged from wows of amazement to shudders of fear at the idea of traveling though the area. The only thing everyone could agree to was that currently moving forwards was out of the question.

The next half hour was spent, after everyone had stopped staring at the webbed forest, preparing lunch and taking it easy. For once Dawson was not running everything as he had found a spot along the slope of the hill, sat down, and spent most of the meal time staring at the forest. Thankfully Marcus had stepped in and taken charge of lunch, mostly just by imitating what he remembered Dawson doing previous days.

While the children ate Joy brought over a bowl of the noodles to Dawson and sat down next to the trainer as he stared at the forest, "Want some lunch?" She asked holding the bowl to him.

"Yeah thanks." He said taking the bowl.

"You seem to enjoy looking at that forest." Joy said sitting down next to him.

"I'm not so much looking as thinking." He said, "Whatever is in that forest made those webs and judging by the sheer quantity of them I'd say whatever it is there're a lot of them."

"Can't we go around the forest?" She asked looking out over the forest.

"Unlikely unless there's another area we can cross the river back the way we came. We need to use that bridge since I don't want to test how well our wagon can ford a river that a Gyarados can swim in freely." He replied.

"But we have Gyarados to take us across." She said, "And I'm sure Togekiss wouldn't be overburdened with just taking across the children."

"You're right we can cross the river, but that wasn't what I was concerned about." He said, "Even if we could cross there's no effective way of taking this wagon with us, and that means either having all of us carry a heavier burden or leaving the food behind."

"Well we're really close to Blackthorn, we could just go hungry for a night." She replied.

"We could, if you're willing to deal with the kids complaining and grumbling stomachs. But there's another issue that I've been worrying about." He said.

"What's that?" She asked.

"What if there's no one at Blackthorn, or worse still what if the town is like Agricola and we can't get close to it for whatever reason?" Dawson said looking back towards the forest, "If it was just a matter of getting to Blackthorn do you think I would have worked so hard to conserve what food we got from Agricola?"

"You don't really think that's what we'll find at Blackthorn, do you?" Joy said nervously.

"I've been on my trainer's journey for nearly five years, and if there's one thing I've learned is that what I think the next town is going to be like is irrelevant to what the town is actually like. I've learned the hard way just because I'm looking forwards to a warm bed and food doesn't mean I'm going to get it. Now if you'll excuse me I want to think on this some more." The trainer said.

"Alright... can you give me Rapidash's Pokeball, I want to check how she's doing." Joy asked.

Dawson wordlessly pulled the ball from his belt and handed to the Pokemon nurse. With that he went back to staring at the forest, occasionally eating a spoonful of the noodles Joy had brought him. With the conversation over Joy sighed and walked back to the wagon.

As Joy began looking over the fire Pokemon the children idly waited near the cart as Dawson continued to stare at the forest. May and Lisa occupied their time tending to the Mareep under the supervision of Gardevoir. Both Marcus and Steven were off on the other side of the heard talking to each other. Rachael and Michele were the only two who chose to rest as they sat in the shade of Torterra's tree while the he munched on the nearby grass.

"Why are we waiting here?" Steven said, "It's just some stupid webs."

"Only a few Pokemon can create webs like that Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Spinarak, Ariadios and a few others. If what Mr. Dawson said is true I don't want to see any of them. If he wants us to wait I think we should wait." Marcus said.

"Yeah sure you just believe every thing he says don't you." Steven said sarcastically.

"You saw our town. It was like he said, and then the Pokemon attack yesterday! I don't know about you but the bodies we walked past after." Marcus replied with a shudder, "Look I know you don't trust adults ever since Andrew went off-"

Before Marcus could finish Steven cut him off, "SHUT UP MARCUS!" This drew the attention of everyone except Dawson.

"Sorry" Marcus replied meekly.

"Just... don't talk about him." Steven said quietly, "You may be OK with trusting him but I'm not."

Before they could finish their conversation Dawson drew the attention of everyone that was eavesdropping on the two boys conversation. Standing up he stretched his arms out to the side he turned, walking towards the cart. Looking over the group he signaled everyone to gather closer.

"Alright everyone gather round I got a plan to get though this place." He said as everyone approached. "So yeah there are a lot of webs in that forest and likely a whole mess of scary that made them. The problem however is not getting though, it'll take longer but Gyarados could easily ferry us across the river one by one, no it's the fact that we'd be leaving most of the supplies in the cart behind."

"We're only a day away from Blackthorn, do we need it?" Rachael asked.

"Yes we do, as I've explained to Joy, the last time I assumed the next town would have what I wanted I went hungry for two days. Either way the plan doesn't involve any of you going through the forest."

"What, Dawson then how are we getting the cart though?" Joy asked.

"Not we, I, I'm going to be taking the cart though while the rest of you get across with Gyarado's help." The trainer said.

"What? How can that be the plan?" Joy said aghast, "What if you get hurt, what if something attacks us, what-"

"Joy I don't see any alternative here" Dawson said cutting her off, "Your not going to be alone out there either, I'm leaving you guys Torterra, Gyarados, Rapidash, and Togekiss. Them alongside the Mareep and Flaffy should allow you guys to camp out without much of an issue overall."

"But what if you get attacked." Marcus asked.

"I'll have Gardevoir and Luxray with me so I should be able to handle anything they throw at me." Dawson replied calmly.

"This is stupid," Steven said glaring at the trainer, "If what you say about Pokemon is true then why do you think it's a good idea to go into the forest alone?"

"I never said it was a good idea but the alternatives of everyone going though and leaving the cart behind aren't any better." Dawson replied, "I know it's not a very good plan but at least with the worst possible outcome you can all still get to Blackthorn."

"That doesn't make sense." Lisa said while playing with her doll.

"Why not?" Dawson asked looking at the girl.

"You want to keep the cart because you don't want to assume Blackthorn has food. Yet you're risking having us get to Blackthorn without you on the assumption that it's safe." Lisa replied with a bored tone.

"Ideally the whole 'get to Blackthorn without me' plan is the worst case scenario. I would like it if we could all get there in one piece." Dawson replied, "But even if we do I've seen you kids travel without food, I have strong doubts we'd get much farther then the city if we didn't have food. Really at this point the decision has been made. When you get across the river find a good place to set up camp and wait for me, If I don't make it back by morning then you guys get to Blackthorn."

With the plan explained Dawson started walking towards the river at the bottom of the hill. Joy followed behind him and the children began to herd the Mareep towards the river as well. Pulling out five spare Pokeballs Dawson looked over to Marcus.

"Marcus I'll need you to get the Mareep and Flaffy into these Pokeballs as everyone starts going across." He said handing the balls to the two young boys.

"What, All of them?" Marcus replied, "Into five Pokeballs?"

"No stupid, He's talking about putting them into the Pokeballs, getting across the river, releasing them then sending them back for the next Mareep." Steven said irritably.

"Right Steven. Marcus you'll be the one riding Gyarados the entire time carrying the Pokeballs back and forth OK?" Dawson said, "Once everyone is over Joy is in charge but my Pokemon will listen to you, keep everyone safe."

"Alright I got it!" Marcus said with pride at the authority given to him.

The next half hour Gyarados traveled back and forth along the river, ferrying the children across after the shore opposite was secured. The entire time Dawson watched Gardevoir fret about with each child as they climbed onto the Gyarados for their ride across. Each time one of them got to the other shore the psychic Pokemon grew more and more nervous.

Joy was in a similar state as each child was sent across. Every time Gyarados came back she tensed up more. As the kids made their way over the river she actively avoiding eye contact wth Dawson. Eventually only Steven and Joy were left. As the young boy climbed on Gyarados he looked back at the trainer with irritation in his eyes.

"This plan of yours is stupid, if you go and die in that forest don't expect me to cry about it." Steven said with disdain before Gyarados headed off.

"Steven don't say that!" Joy snapped angrily at the boy as the water Pokemon headed off, "I'm sorry Dawson I don't know why he said that."

"It's OK, he is right in a sense I'm sure this isn't going to go down in the annals of history as the smartest idea ever." Dawson replied casually.

"Dammit Dawson!" Joy snapped as she clenched her fists watching Gyarados swim off.

"Sorry?" He replied confused.

"Stop being so flippant! You're doing something incredibly dangerous and I don't know what will happen if you don't get though this!" Joy said willing herself to stare out over the lake refusing to turn to face the trainer, "What if you don't make it? What will I do, I can't take care of all these kids. I don't know what to do if something attacks us. I don't even know what I'll do when we get to Blackthorn."

"Joy..." Dawson said putting a hand on her shoulder.

Before he could say another word she turned around and pulled him into a tight hug. Burying her face into his shoulder preventing him from looking into her eyes. Her arms trembled when she wrapped them around him the trainer who almost took a step back from surprise from her actions. Hesitantly, cautiously, he wrapped his own arms around the nurse returning the hug.

"I'll be OK Joy..." He said to her in a whisper, "If the worst happens then just get to Blackthorn."

"And then?" She said.

"Then plan where to go next after that, I heard Kanto is nice this time of year." He said smiling and giving her a squeeze.

"How can you be so calm." She said into his chest, "You could die."

"Yes I could, but that's been a constant for the last few days I guess I'm used to it by now." He said, "and being flippant is probably my way of coping."

At his response Joy lifted her head up, showing him why she didn't want to make eye contact. Her eyes were red from tears and Dawson could clearly see she was sill crying. He did his best to give her a reassuring smile which just caused her to hug him once again. The next few minutes were spent in silence as the two waited for Gyarados to return. Neither one moving or saying a word as the time passed.

Eventually the water Pokemon did return and Joy hesitantly pulled away. It took her longer then the children to climb on top top of Gyarados as Dawson felt she was deliberately delaying in case either one had some sort of eureka moment that would stop them from parting. Turning to face the trainer half way up the Pokemon she broke the silence surrounding them.

"Dawson..." Joy started.

"Joy remember, once you get to the other side get a good distance from the forest." Dawson said interrupting her.

"OK... Goo-" She said.

"Oh no you don't." He interrupted, "This isn't a good bye moment here, I'll be though the forest in a few hours. That's hardly even enough time for a 'see you later'."

"But..." She said with a pained look.

Dawson gave a small sigh, "Fine... if you need some type of farewell... Joy stay safe." He said looking up at her.

Joy looked bemused at the trainers words before giving him a small smile, "Stay safe Dawson." She said climbing up to the top of Gyarados.

Once on top of the water Pokemon she gave Dawson one last parting look as she was carried off towards the opposite shore. The kids were all gathered along the river and Dawson could tell they were speculating about the moment the two of them just shared. With a sigh the trainer turned towards the cart only to find both Gardevoir and Luxray staring at him with curious expressions.

"What?" He asked defensively as he made his way to the wagon.


	13. Chapter 13

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Spiders... brrrrr.

August 20th

Dawson had been staring at the entrance to the forest before him for several long and drawn out minutes. The road leading into the forest was, like everything else within a stones throw from the woods, covered in webs. As it made it's way into the woods it was lost from sight as the inside of the forest was far to dark to see anything past a few dozen feet. As far as the Dawson's group could tell this was the only possible way to make it though the forest as trying to go cross county though the woods was impossible due to the overgrown plants and abundance of webs.

"Fuck, how could I even think this was even close to the level of a bad idea?" Dawson said to himself, "This is so far beyond a bad idea that I can't even fathom how I could have even passed this off as a necessary evil..."

Stepping back he leaning against the wagon and lifted his leg pulling off some of the many silken threads that had gathered around his boots. The ground in the immediate vicinity of the forest was littered with dozen of stray patches of web. Simply approaching the forest caused everyone in the group to collect their own strands of silk along their feet. All except Gardevoir who was currently floating above the ground.

Presenting the idea to the group was easy, Dawson even found himself believing the optimistic attitude he used to reassure everyone, Joy more specifically, that he'd be OK. Now that he was in front of the forest with no one else around but his Pokemon all the doubts and worries that he and the others presented started flooding into his mind. He also only had four Pokemon with him for this independent side trip which made him feel extremely exposed. These factors all weighed down on him and created a pit in his stomach that was easily identifiable as fear.

Taking a deep breath Dawson smacked himself on the side of his head a few times and faced the forest entrance, "Well lets get on with this this then." He said after psyching himself up.

Patting the side of the Ponyta next to him he got the two of them walking and the group advanced towards the forest. Passing the threshold managed to unnerve Dawson even more as he could clearly see a line of shadow separating the darkness of the forest with the light of the outside. As the advanced further into the woods the blackness grew with each step until the entrance was the only light save for the flickering of Ponyta's flaming mane.

"Luxray... Flash please." Dawson said as he strained to see anything in the darkness.

As commanded the electric Pokemon's fur let off small sparks and the area around the wagon was illuminated as Luxray began to glow. Dawson immediately wished he was still in the dark. Surrounding them in the brief seconds after his Pokemon lit up he could see dozens of pairs of eyes encircling the group. As soon as he saw them they bolted and skittered away without even a sound.

Both Luxray and Gardevoir looked to their trainer as he stood rooted on the spot. Closing his eyes for a second Dawson took in another deep calming breath. Looking forwards he grabbed the nervous Ponyta's reigns and started to lead the group down the path.

"Sooner we're done with this the sooner we can get out of this forest." He said to himself.

With that he began walking down the dirt road. It didn't help his nerves that the only light provided was from three of the four Pokemon with him. As they progressed the Ponyta's flames flickered about creating shifting shadows everywhere and Luxray's aura of brightness moved with the Pokemon making every shadow crawl past them.

For several long minutes the group traveled along the road in the forest. The only noise around them was the sound of footsteps and the wagon wheels turning. Nothing moved around them or made a single sound as they walked along the path. There wasn't even a breeze, the air around them stifling with it's stagnant pressure.

Dawson almost jumped out of his skin when Gardevoir let out a cry and signaled for the group to stop. After taking a second to calm down Dawson looked over at his Pokemon as it pointed to the path in front of them. Dawson couldn't see anything in front of him at all, just more of the same shadowy darkness that surrounded them.

"Gardevoir?" He said.

His only response from her was another indication that something was either in front of them or approaching from their front. Since nothing was moving ahead of them Dawson could only assume that it was that something was there. Walking ahead of the Ponyta he looked about as best he could in the darkness. Still not seeing anything he glanced back at his Pokemon.

With a wave of the hand indicating what was in front of them Gardevoir sent out a psychic push past her trainer and into the near invisible threads of the web in front of Dawson. The thin silken lines shifted in the air and Dawson could see the light reflect off of their strands. Reaching forwards the trainer gently touched the web.

The string was surprisingly tacky as his finger attached itself to the web and was proving difficult to remove. He tried yanking it away but the web warped with it and he was forced to stop when he felt the threads start to painfully pull against his skin. He let out a sigh at the fact that he was in the middle of a forest in complete darkness and his finger was now stuck to a web blocking their path. Eventually he gritted his teeth and, with a sharp pull against the fibers, ripped his hand away from the thread.

A sharp pain shot across his finger as the skin was ripped away. Dawson placed the injured appendage in his mouth. In normal situations he would have worried about the fact that the web was strong enough to rip his skin, but as he watched the strands of silk sway back and forth his mind became occupied with another problem. From all around them the sounds of movement could be heard in the trees as it felt like the entire forest came alive around them with movement.

Luxray nearly jumped with surprise as the forest came alive around her. Her X-ray vision good for seeing past objects but when the Ariados and Spinarak blended in with the foliage and trees it could only help so much. She immediately started launching bolts of electric energy at the nearest bugs. She scrambled to react to the forest coming alive around her.

Next to her Gardevoir was already in action as she calmed her mind and started sending out bursts of psychic energy towards the tangled mass of trees and webs above them. With a offhanded wave of her arm Dawson found himself knocked flat on his ass staring at the canopy. Getting knocked down by his psychic Pokemon ended up saving his life as he was able to see where the attack was coming from.

From above dropped a fully grown Ariados onto the stunned trainer. Unable to roll away he felt the three foot long bug land on him with ease and shoot it's head forwards attempting to bite the trainer. With movements born of a frantic desire not to get eaten by a giant insect Dawson brought his hands up and managed to grab onto the Ariados's mandibles. With a strength he didn't know the Pokemon possessed his hands were actually pushed down towards him by the spider.

From near him he heard the sounds of his Pokemon launching attacks at the Ariados and Spinarak ambushing the party. Dawson couldn't focus on them as his opponent's fangs were slowly drawing closer to his skin despite his best efforts to push back. With a surge of force the Ariados pushed down and Dawson felt a stabbing pain in his shoulder as the fang connected and pierced into his flesh.

Almost instantly a numbness could be felt around the wound as Dawson rallied his strength and pushed back against the Pokemon. The Ariados's fang was ripped out of the wound and Dawson held back the Pokemon's head with as much force as he could muster. Removing one of his hands from the fang it held onto Dawson reached to his belt and grabbed one of the small balls attached to his waist. Before the Ariados could take advantage of the less resistance Dawson expanded the ball and slammed it into the face of the attacking Pokemon.

With a flash of red light the Ariados was sucked into the round device and locked into the ball. Before it could even ping once Dawson lobbed the device as far into the darkness as he could. The Pokeball flew into the shadows and a few seconds later a flash of red light indicated the Ariados escaped the confines of the device. Dawson sat up as best he could under the pain and tried to get bearing on the situation around him.

All around him he heard the sounds of his Pokemon fighting back against the sudden surprise attack. He could feel his shoulder bleeding heavily but the burning feeling from the venom injected into him was lessening. Pushing himself back he leaned against the wheel of the cart. As he began to use the wagon to help himself up he felt a pull on his leg preventing him from standing.

Looking down he saw a six limbed Pokemon climbing up his leg. The Spinarak looked up at the bleeding trainer and the two's eyes met for a moment. What Dawson saw in the Pokemon's eyes made his blood run cold. There was no feeling or emotion behind the eyes that he could recognize, just a hungry look as the trainer realized that look was meant for him.

With a frantic swinging of his leg he knocked the Spinarak off his leg and watched it hit the ground beside him landing on it's back. It's body began swaying to the side as it attempted to get back on it's legs. It never got a chance to finish as Dawson's boot slammed down on the bug Pokemon. He felt it's body crack and break under his food and he almost slipped from the sudden wetness under his feet from it's blood and guts.

He pulled his boot away and stared down at the mess of the Spinarak. Immediately regretting the decision when his stomach heaved at the sight of the crushed Pokemon. Looking away he steadied himself on the wagon as his Pokemon continued to fight around him. Before he could assess the situation around him Dawson saw an Ariados approach from the shadows in front of him.

It was only once it stepped into Luxray's light that Dawson realized, from it's bruised eye and bloody fangs, that it was the same Ariados that had attacked him at the start. In the next second it launched itself at the trainer and slammed him into the wagon with it's body.

Dawson wisely chose to intercept the Ariados's head preventing it from injecting more venom into his body. However this left it's legs free, one of them landing directing into his open wound. Dawson cried out in pain as he felt the bug press the appendage into his body and twist it in the wound.

With both hands he grabbed the bug shoved it the ground before it overwhelmed him, his body sending sharp spikes of pain though him as the Ariados's leg was ripped out of his open wound. Raising his foot Dawson slammed his treaded feet into the bug causing it to let out a screech in pain. He immediately pulled it back when it tried to wrap it's legs around his own in response.

From it's abdomen a mass of white sticky string shot out at him. Barely dodging in time he looked down at the injured bug while raising his foot once again. With it's thorax cracked and seeping blood it never the less managed make eye contact with the trainer. It's scary face making Dawson pause for a moment before bringing his foot down on it. Aiming for it's head this time he felt no resistance from it's body this time and the last thing it saw was the treads on Dawson's feet.

Pulling away his gore splattered foot Dawson felt his vision start to sway and shake. Listening to the sounds around him he was relived to hear the noise of battle fade away to silence once again. Looking over at his Pokemon he was able to discern the reason for the bug's retreat.

Gardevoir was surrounded with the crushed remains of several dozen Spinarak and Ariados. She was panting lightly and her arms trembled at her side but she appeared almost completely untouched. Luxray However was covered in the blood of the bug Pokemon. Her fur was wet in several places from it and her mouth was smeared with the remains of any of the Pokemon that got close to her fangs.

It was only the two Ponyta that seemed to have been hit at all. Both of them were currently trying to shake their way out of a mess of webs that had almost smothered them. Apparently the last thing the bugs wanted was to give the two fire Pokemon a reason to light up the forest.

"So even the bugs know... when its not worth it..." He said sliding down the side of the cart.

As he slid Gardevoir rushed around the cart to catch her trainer. Despite being of a smaller stature then her trainer she easily lifted him back up into a leaning position. Reaching forwards she let her hands drift over Dawson's wound. Before she could administer a heal pulse to the wound he stopped her hands. Looking into his eyes with concern Dawson pointed to a corner of the cart where several large bottles of water lay.

"Need... to clear the wound of... the last of the poison..." He said with a weak voice, "Hurry please."

Floating over to the bottles Gardevoir pulled one out and simply psychically ripped off the top rather then struggle with the cap. Slowly she poured the contents of the bottle over Dawson's shoulder. He winced as the cool water contacted the wound but gritted his teeth though it. Fresh blood mixed with some that had already been spilled flowed down his side as the last drops of water was emptied from the container.

With the wound clean Gardevoir once again reached forwards to administer a heal pulse. A soft pink aura surrounded her hands as she hovered them over his shoulder. The pink light began to flow into the bleeding wound and it slowly started to close. A few moments later a skin had formed over the injury and Dawson's breathing had started to normalize.

"I think I lucked out..." He said to his Pokemon, "The blood washed away most of the poison after... I got stabbed by that thing's leg."

Looking up he saw Luxray already at work clearing the webs from the two Ponyta. Her fangs sparked with electricity as the ripped at the webbing trapping the two fire Pokemon. Gardevoir had moved to the front and started to rip down the web that was blocking their path. Her psychic power being the most suitable since it didn't require any touching at all.

Dawson sighed and let more of his weight lean against the wagon. Flexing his wounded arm he felt the sting of the now closed wound. Numbness still lingered along his arm as he clenched his fist trying to get feeling back into his hand. He began to think that he was luckier then he first though since the poison numbed his arm rather then eat away his skin.

This thought caused him to shudder at the thought of what would have happed if they lost. The idea of being dragged though the woods unable to move while the bugs wrapped him in webs was something he was going to have nightmares about. With a small bit of feeling returning to his hand Dawson looked over to Gardevoir just as she had finished clearing the path ahead. All that was left was to let Luxray finish cleaning off the Ponyta.

Resolving himself to get out of the woods as quickly as possible he patted the Ponyta on the side and looked to Gardevoir, "We ready to go?" He asked

With a nod of her head Gardevoir turned and started down the path taking the lead. Following alongside of the Ponyta Dawson started walking with the others. Each step he took felt heavier as if he suddenly had weights around his feet and his arms were being dragged to the ground by ropes. He couldn't tell if it was from the poison in his system or the loss of blood.

The only positive thing he could think of was that he wasn't nearly as jumpy as he was before. He could tell the bug Pokemon were still out there, likely planning another attack, but having faced what was in the shadows he felt a bit more calm about the journey though the woods. It was that or the blood loss made him too fatigued to care.

As the group progressed they were only hindered by two things along the road. The first was the webs that crossed the path of the road. Second was the occasional psychic attack Gardevoir launched outwards into the trees, crushing the Spinarak and Ariados that got to close for the Pokemon's comfort. While each one only slowed them down slightly Dawson could see that the strain was affecting Gardevoir. Handling future sight, using psychic to kill any of the approaching bugs, and clearing away the webs was taking it's toll on her and Dawson began to suspect she wouldn't last the entire trip.

That thought wasn't a priority in his mind as they traveled. He would normally be worried about Gardevoir pushing herself too hard but every other step he took distracted him from his concerns. Every time he put his gore covered foot down he was reminded of both the Spinarak and Ariados that he had killed. It wasn't a hard decision in the heat of battle, but every step brought his mind back to the fact that he had killed not one but two Pokemon.

"It was easier to deal with when it was just my Pokemon doing the killing." He thought, "Of course does that make me scum for wanting them to do all the dirty work?"

Lost in thought he almost didn't notice the fact that Gardevoir had come to a stop ahead of him. Before her was a split in the road they were taking which had caused her to halt the group. Sunlight had managed to filter though much of the webs above the spot, as the trees over the divide in the road had been cleared. Unable to attach their webs effectively to anything near by had made them weaker overall. A gentle breeze blew through the silken net above them.

Stepping into the center of the light the breeze blew across the trainer with refreshing coolness. Dawson stood and took in the sun and air for a few moments before approaching the two route signs. Located at the split between the pair of signs each pointed down their respective roads. Looking over them Dawson saw each one had their route number located within a small triangle at the top of the sign.

"We're following route fifty four so the right path likely leads us to the bridge." He said looking back at Gardevoir.

She gave a weak nod and began to float towards the right path. Dawson could tell she was pretty worn down from all the work she had been doing so far. He knew she was going to run herself into the ground if this kept up.

"Alright let's take a break here." He said, "The area's wide enough to give us some warning if something attacks and I figure this is likely the last place we'll even see the sun before the bridge."

Gardevoir silently nodded in agreement. She floated over to the cart letting her hands rest on the side. Closing her eyes she began resting as best she could during the downtime. Luxray spent the time cleaning herself by licking away the blood on her fur. Both Ponyta were unhooked from the wagon by Dawson. With the freedom of movement they sniffed around the edge of the road looking for some grass that wasn't covered by webs.

Dawson leaned against the wagon and tried to keep his breathing steady. He felt light headed still from the loss of his blood. Reaching into the cart he pulled out an energy bar, munching on the food quietly. His meal done Dawson reached back into his backpack and pulled several berries for his Pokemon. A few moments later each one was munching on their snack.

"Since they're not taking this opportunity to attack I can only imagine the bugs are planning another ambush later on." He thought while he got the Ponyta back into the cart's harness.

Before the group started off Dawson walked over to the route fifty four sign. Looking it over from top to bottom he signaled Gardevoir over to him. The psychic Pokemon wearily floated over to her trainer in response to his summons.

"Gardevoir can you snap this sign off at the base?" He asked.

With a flick of her mind the bottom of the sign pole bent ninety degrees sideways then straight back upwards. As it righted itself a popping noise could be heard near the base where the bend stiffened and snapped at the sudden movement. Gardevoir looked to her trainer while mentally holding the sign before him.

"Thank you Gardevoir." He said smiling at her.

Taking the sign he checked it's weight a few times before taking the lead in front of the cart, "Gardevoir you focus on keeping up future sight, I'll work on getting the webs out of the way. We can't have you passing out on us before we're through this forest." Dawson said.

With the two Ponyta back in the wagon yoke Dawson headed down the road towards th bridge. The sign was balanced on his shoulder as he walked the triangular tip pointing forwards. Anytime it got caught on a web barrier he would rip it off and proceed to hack his way though the offending silken wall. Even with the sign it took a large amount of effort to break through the webs. He quickly realized just how much energy Gardevoir was burning every time she ripped the threads apart.

Each web wall required him to chop away at the offending threads like a woodcutter chopping a log. As strong as steel the threads could stop a car head on. However Dawson wasn't aiming to cut the strings of silk, rather he aimed his swings at the edges where the threads attached themselves to trees and leaves. The threads were only as strong as what they were held to. He still ended up sweating and occasionally growing dizzy from the sheer amount of work he was doing.

With the sheer number of webs blocking their path it took the group several hours to make enough progress to get to the bridge. As they approached the sun had already moved from high in the sky towards the horizon in the distance. The bridge itself was made from metal it's framework arced over the cement that met up with the dirt road they currently traveled on. From tip to bottom and from the first rivet to the last on the far shore the entire structure was covered in the same webs the forest was.

Not only was the entire bridge covered but along the webs were several large cocoons. Leaning the sign against the cart and pulling out a cooking knife from his backpack Dawson approached one of the cocoons near the front. With careful movements he cut along the edge of the silk careful not to stab it. From the cut holes he made in the cocoon a Pokemon started to slowly climb out, it's movements sluggish and weak.

A Pidgey crawled out a staggered about weakly for a few moments. It tried to fly away but it's drugged up body succeeded in only flopping about around on the ground. Eventually it wandered off back the way the group had come vanishing into the darkness.

"So I guess they used this bridge as a giant net for flying Pokemon." He said as he watched the Pidgy wander away.

A tug on his arm drew his attention away from the drugged wandering of the Pidgey. Gardevoir pointed to the other side of the bridge where Dawson could see several dots moving along the webs covering the structure. Although he couldn't see what the dots were Dawson knew the Spinarak and Ariados were waiting on the far side of the bridge. Since Gardevoir had yet to make any defensive actions Dawson could only assume that they weren't crossing the bridge just yet.

"Well it looks like they're aiming to trap us on the other side of the bridge when we cross which means we have some time to think about this." He said while watching the dots move.

Sitting down on the wagon Dawson silently watched the opposite side of the bridge and the sheer number of dots crawling over the webs at the end. Gardevoir kept watch over everyone while doing her best to recover from the earlier attack. Luxray spent this time off a ways away coughing up a combination hair and bug bits ball.

The sky had started to change it's color towards dusk when Dawson finally figured out a plan across, "Alright guys this is going to be fairly ballsy so listen up," He told the four Pokemon with him, "Effectively we're going to have to bum rush that bridge. Clearly they're waiting for us to cross since their ambush earlier failed. So we just blow past them as fast as possible and keep a lead on them all the way out of the forest. The bugs are banking on us not wanting to use fire since it's likely to light up this place like a road flare so let's make sure that edge is used to it's utmost. Gardevoir you're in front right behind the Ponyta, keep them safe and clear of any webs. Luxray you're behind me at the back of the wagon, I'm keeping the bugs from climbing on and you're keeping them from following after us. Any objections?"

Both Ponyta looked at each before shaking their heads no. Luxray responded by climbing wordlessly into the back of the wagon. Gardevoir was the only one who hesitated due to her trying to research all the possible outcomes of the situation. After Dawson climbed into the wagon alongside Luxray did he address his fretting Pokemon.

"Gardevoir we can't rely on your predictions for this, we have to just do it and hope for the best." He said.

Looking like she took little comfort with his words Gardevoir nevertheless floated into the front of the wagon and readied herself. Dawson lifted up the sign he took from earlier holding it in both hands. Taking one last look at the cluster of bug Pokemon on the opposite side of the bridge he signaled to the Ponyta.

"Alright nice and slow until we get to the webs then fire them up and start running." He said.

The Ponyta nodded and started walking towards the bridge. As they approached the bugs on the opposite side began to react and move about with more urgency. More could be seen crawling out of the forest to join with the ones already at the bridge.

Up until they hit the cement on the bridge the Ponyta went at a soft gallop. The second their hoofs hit cement they each let out a gout of flame catching the webs around the framework with their fire. The webs immediately began burning as the fire raced along the bridge towards the opposite end.

With a strong kick from both Ponyta the cart lurched forwards almost knocking over Dawson as he was forced to kneel to avoid falling over. As the fire raced along the webs surrounding the bridge the Ponyta drawn wagon raced right behind. In mere moments they had crossed almost a third of the bridge and the other side rapidly grew closer.

As they sped along Dawson glanced to one side of the burning fire before them. As it burned the webs several large cocoons that had been hanging in the web were set ablaze and their occupants only had a few moments of freedom before the fire engulfed them as well. Several of the Pokemon had tried to escape by flying away only to plummet like rocks from the burns and high dosage of poison in their system. Seeing them burn and fall made Dawson grimace as he turned back to the approaching web blockade.

The Ariados and Spinarak on the other side of the bridge were by no means stupid. As the wall of flame approached they immediately began working to cut the lines connecting to the trees. Once all the lines were cut they pulled back to the trees and began lobbing shots of webs towards the approaching cart.

As the web shots approached Gardevoir focused her psychic powers and began swatting the globs of sticky silken string out of the air like a psychic window wiper. As the cart reached the end of the bridge the group blew past the burning fire and though to the forest. Several larger Ariados took this opportunity to leap at the wagon as it passed threshold towards the trees.

Dawson snapped into action as the bug's landed on the cart. The first one didn't have time to do anything as the trainer stabbed the end of the sign, the twisted end making a fair spear point, into the thorax of the bug. Straining with the body he lifted it up and slid the pole along the edge of the cart dislodging the Ariados from the end letting it slam into the ground and fall by the wayside.

The second had enough time to climb on board before it was launched off the edge of the cart by a blue mass of fur. Luxray followed up with a lightning bolt once she knew the electricity wouldn't get attracted to Dawson's weapon. Before she could launch another bolt at any of the other bugs the cart hit a hole in the ground sending everyone reeling as it shook from the impact.

Dawson was the first to recover his footing in the wagon. While the nearest Ariados recovered he brought down the sign in an arc and embedded the route triangle into the body of the bug. Straining to lift the sign with the attached Pokemon again Dawson once again worked to free his weapon from the extra weight of the seventy pound insect.

As the Ponyta continued their run though the forest Gardevoir was able to block almost all the string shots aimed at the two fire Pokemon. It was only when she saw the gleaming of another steel web barrier did something slip though. Knowing she couldn't break the webs easily from where she was she did the next best thing. Focusing her energy she reached out and mentally grabbed one of the two trees the web was attached to. With painful cry she ripped the tree from the ground and sent it flying across the road clearing the way for the Ponyta.

The string shots were still being shot however and several managed to hit both Pontya. None bound their legs but one shot out from the darkness and hit directly in the face of one of the fire Pokemon. Suddenly blinded Ponyta tried to keep running with his partner but couldn't see that he was listing to the side dragging his partner and the cart off the road and careening into the woods.

Dawson, Luxray, and Gardevoir all held on for dear life as the cart flew past trees and webs into the darkness of the forest. The careening ride continued only for a few moments before the wagon snagged on a tree causing the Ponyta to whip backwards at the sudden stopping motion. Gardevoir was able to stop under her own power as she floated in the air above the cart. Dawson and Luxray were not so lucky as both of them flew though the air from the instant deceleration.

The last thing Dawson saw was an approaching tree before his world was swallowed by darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Quite a few times in the anime, movie nine in particular, you see people drinking water produced by Pokemon attacks like water gun. I'm not sure about everyone else but seriously that grosses me out a bit. Yeah everyone let's drink some Pokemon spit.

August 20th

"What do you think they're doing over there?" Michele asked looking across the river.

Gyarados had reached the opposite shore on his second to last trip across the river. Michele had ridden over on Gyarados last so much of the work to get the Mareep out of their Pokeball's had been done by the time she arrived. She sat on the edge of the river shore where the turf met the sand, her shoes taken off to enjoy the feel of the grass at her feet.

The two kids peered across trying to see better by squinting at the distance figures."How would I know?" Marcus said, "They're too small to see anything."

"It looks like Joy is doing something with Mr. Dawson." She said watching the small dots on the other side of the river, "Maybe their kissing?"

"What?" He replied incredulously, "Why would Mr. Dawson want to do something gross like that?"

"Kissing isn't gross, I bet they are." She said, "I think it's romantic."

"It is gross and I know Mr. Dawson wouldn't even bother with that stuff. I bet he doesn't even think about Nurse Joy in a kissing way." He said.

"Humph, you're a boy you don't get it. I bet Nurse Joy likes him enough to want to kiss him." She said looking at the young boy, "Mr. Dawson likes her that much too, I bet."

"Oh yeah I think you just want to think that!" He said pointing a finger at her.

"You're a boy, you don't know what to look for." She replied.

"Betcha I know Mr. Dawson better then you." He said with a smug smile, "And I'm one hundred percent sure he doesn't think about Nurse Joy like that."

"What makes you so sure?" She asked.

"Because he's..." He started letting his answer linger in the air for a few moments, "... A Pokemon trainer! That's why!"

Michele felt her head tilt to the side at the assault of her peer's logic, "What?" She said flatly.

"Pokemon trainers only worry about their Pokemon." He said pointing his head up in superiority, "They don't have time to worry about gross things like kissing girls. That's why Mr. Dawson isn't over there kissing Nurse Joy."

Michele just stared at the young boy completely speechless. The silence was broken as Gyarados arrived carrying Steven. He climbed off the water Pokemon and leapt to the shore. As he landed he caught sight of the two kids and their conversation. He looked back and forth between the two as they argued. Marcus was still carrying his smug look and Michele was still speechless as his head darted back and forth between the two.

"What are you two doing?" He asked as he brushed off the sand from his shoes.

"Michele thinks Dawson and Joy are over there kissing." Marcus said, "I just proved her wrong."

"No you didn't!" Michele replied, "You're a boy your can't prove girls wrong."

Steven blinked a few times as he watched the two argue back and forth, "Marcus... didn't Dawson tell you that you were in charge?" He said.

"Yeah why." The boy replied.

"So why are you here on the shore fighting with Michele?" Steven asked.

"Because... I... wanted to..." He fumbled.

"... I'm going to be the one doing all the work then..." Steven said with a defeated tone, "Because that idiot adult left the most clueless person in charge."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Marcus said, "I can lead this group no problem, I'm just... waiting for nurse Joy to arrive before I take charge!"

His response was met with a look from Steven that made clear his irritation with Marcus. Rather then start what he assumed was a second argument he simply sighed leaving the two to bicker about their ideas of romance. Heading over to the others he checked on the Mareep as they grazed on the nearby grass.

May and Lisa sat by the Mareep as Steven approached. They both gave him a glare that deterred him from getting any closer. In light of the open hostility from the two girls he gave them a wide berth. Despite his annoyance at their reactions he didn't really feel like starting a second argument within spitting distance of Marcus and Michele.

Steven began checking on the Mareep once he made it past the two girls. Checking their wool, cleaning them of dirt and twigs, and making sure they didn't have any injures. He only stopped when he got a strange feeling of being watched. He looked up and about trying to figure out if he was just being paranoid or if something was spying on him. A few bushes off in the distance, the web covered forest, the road leading to Blackthorn, and the mountains it lead too all of which showed no signs of spying. He couldn't see any movement or signs of any sort that someone or something was watching them.

"Hey May, Lisa... you guys see anything around us?" Steven asked looking over at the girls.

"What are you talking about Steven?" May said.

"I dunno... just feels like we're being watched or something..." He said.

"Is this another one of your 'they're all out to get me' ideas?" May said irritably.

"No this is... you know what forget it, you want to be all pissy go ahead." He said going back to tending the sheep.

He tried to bury the unease he was feeling in the back of his mind as he continued to check the Mareep. Most of them were getting more and more worn out as the days continued. They were used to traveling since they needed to get up and down to the alpine pastures. That was back in Agricola however, their journey so far had been more of a marathon then a hike that would take an entire day at most. This trek from Agricola to Blackthorn was draining them slowly and steadily. It didn't help that they also had to fight along the way. They weren't battle Pokemon by nature, he wasn't sure what would happen if they had to fight like this all the time.

Steven let out a small chuckle at the thought he just had. He was here worrying about the Mareep and he didn't even give a second though to himself or any of the others. He didn't know why but the world was starting to feel different to him. The only word he could put to his feeling was 'larger' but it felt too limiting for him. He pushed the out of his mind and headed over to the groups packs.

They had been piled together one by one as everyone came over to this side of the river. Many of the kids immediately dropped their packs as soon as they could, eager to be free of the weight. Steven went about double checking everything like Dawson had shown the group previously. It irritated him slightly that he was even doing something an adult like him told him to do. He was jarred out of his thoughts when he heard the incessant chattering of Michele as she walked towards the flock with Joy and Marcus in tow.

He could tell by the red flush in the Pokemon nurse's cheeks that Michele was likely prying into what she and Dawson did on the other side of the river. "We weren't kissing." Joy insisted, "I don't even know where you could have gotten that idea."

"But you were getting close to Mr. Dawson. I saw it." Michele insisted.

"That was... he had dirt on his face that's why, I was helping him clean it off!" She said blushing even more, "Marcus are we ready to go?"

The boy blinked a few times before frantically looking around, "Umm... well let's see..."

"Yes Joy, we are ready to go." Steven said as he finished checking over the last backpack, "I've just finished checking the backpacks."

"Hey Dawson left me in charge." Marcus said indignantly.

"He also thought it was smart to walk into a forest covered in webs and filled with dangerous Pokemon." He replied.

Joy tried to hide her unease at Steven's words as she attempted to defuse a fight before it happened, "Kids kids... let's not fight..." Joy said nervously hoping Steven wasn't going to start more trouble.

Letting out a 'humph' Steven bit his tongue and let Marcus step up to take charge of the group. Despite saying he had already checked them the group wasted several long minutes as Marcus looked over the packs again. Eventually the packs had been double checked, and the party set out down the road towards Blackthorn.

Even as they traveled to the city Steven couldn't help but feel uneasy as they walked down the road. Every few minutes he'd feel the hairs on the back of his head prickle, however every time he looked around for the source he only saw the bushes and grass along the side of the road. His position at the back of the group saved him the trouble of having to explain why he kept looking around at least.

As Dawson suggested the group only traveled for a few hours to get far enough away from the forest to prevent the web makers from leaving their leafy home to capture a meal. They also stopped early due to the extra weight they carried as the tents and backpacks would normally be inside the wagon rather then carried by the children.

As soon as Joy felt they had made enough distance from the forest for one day she called an end to the walking. The kids immediately dropped their packs collapsing to the ground in fairly exaggerated manners. Joy wasn't setting much better an example as soon as her pack was on the ground she started rubbing her lower back.

Steven sighed as he was the only one still wearing his backpack and not playing up how tired he was, "Alright you twits you're not all that worn out." He said irritably, "Take five minutes and then we start setting up the camp."

"Hey you're not the one in charge!" Marcus said from where he sat on the ground.

"Marcus..." Steven started letting the pause in his statement hang in the air to show how annoyed he was, "Unless you get off your butt and start being in charge I'm going to do it for you."

"I was just giving everyone a break first." Marcus said, "Then we'd get the camp ready. I just didn't think I needed to tell everyone."

"Marcus... shut up... just shut up before I hit you." Steven said though gritted teeth.

With the leader of their group cowed Steven took off his pack placing it down on the ground. The rest of the kids, along with nurse Joy, watched as he started setting up his tent. A few moments later Lisa and May both got up and followed suit working together to put up their tent.

Joy watched as Rachael and Michele soon began unpacking their tents as well. Soon even Marcus had started assisting Steven on his tent. She eventually realized that she was the only one left who wasn't doing anything.

Within the next half hour the tents were set up, a fire had been made, and the children were eating their supper as the sun set in the distance. Rachael basking in the wake of compliments for making the meal. Steven was the only one not sitting with the rest of the group.

He stood at the edge of the camp holding his empty noodle cup, and watching the grass and bushes around the camp. The sun was beginning to begin to fall below the horizon while he continued his vigil. He glanced back towards the fire when he heard a sound of someone approaching behind him.

"So... what did you think of the meal?" Rachael asked walking up behind him.

"Its a cup of noodles." He said looking back towards the perimeter of the camp, "What do you want me to say? Congratulations you can heat water."

"Jerk." Was the curt reply he got from Rachael, "You know you don't always have to be so mean."

"If I want you to leave me alone I do." He said.

"Fine if you want to be alone out here doing... whatever it is you're doing then be my guest." She said.

"I'm looking for whatever is out there watching us." He said to her.

"Nothing's out there Steven... you're just being paranoid again." She replied.

"No something IS out there, I just don't know what." He said going back to his vigil.

Now more the slightly irritated Rachael turned and headed back towards the campfire. Circling around the fire she approached Joy and Michele as they tended to Rapidash. The fire Pokemon's wounds had grown worse over the course of the day. Her body was sweating and Rachael could hear her labored breathing as she approached.

"How is she?" Rachael asked as she approached.

"She's alive for now..." Joy said as she paused in her cleaning of the wounds, "But she's getting worse every hour."

Michele stopped cleaning Rapidash of sweat and looked at Joy, "But you'll save her right?" She asked earnestly.

"I don't know if I can do anything for her now... but I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out when we get to Blackthorn." She said reassuringly, "But for now we should all start heading to bed."

At her announcement a chorus of complaints and whines were launched at her from the kids. Ranging from 'we're not tired' to 'its not that late' Joy never the less sent each and every one of the children to their tents. Once the last one was inside she let out a sigh of relief and sat down near the fire. She looked about at the Pokemon as they went about guarding the group.

Torterra was resting in a patch of long grass near the tents. He may or may not have been sleeping but Joy didn't feel like checking. She took solace in the fact that Togekiss, now freed from the cart and in good health, had perched herself on the back of the continent Pokemon and was dutifully keeping watch. The flying Pokemon noticed Joy sitting in front of the fire.

In her lap was Poochyena, the dark Pokemon sleeping in her lap. Joy absentmindedly petted his fur while staring at the firelight before her. Togekiss let out of soft chip and drew her attention to herself. With her nose she pointed to the nurse's tent then back to her. She did this several times indicating that Joy should get some sleep.

"No I think I'm going to stay up..." She said, "I want to wait for Dawson."

Steven sighed as he overheard Joy talking to Togekiss. He stared up at the canvas ceiling in the tent he and Marcus shared thinking about his next course of action. His tent-mate looked at him from his sleeping bag trying to figure out what he was bothered by.

"What's up Steven?" He whispered.

"Nothing..." Steven replied turning on his side away from him, "Go to sleep already."

Realizing he wasn't going to get a response from his companion the boy closed his eyes and tried his best to get some sleep. Steven remained awake inside the tent. He watched the firelight create shadows along the tent wall as he waited. The minutes ticked away constantly and without end.

Eventually he saw the firelight along the tent wall start to dim. Taking that as a good sign he silently climbed out of his sleeping bag and crawled towards the front of the tent. Marcus didn't stir from his slumber as Steven reached the flaps and slowly pushed one aside.

Peering outside he saw the fire smoldering in the center of the tent circle. Joy was slumped on her side sleeping in the dim light of the campfire. He couldn't see Togekiss or Torterra but knew the tents facing allowed him a small measure of unseen movement. With Joy asleep he began to slip out of the tent.

Taking great pains not to move too quickly and make too much noise he climbed out and circled around to the side of the tent opposite the two Pokemon. Peering around the edge Steven glanced at where Torterra and Togekiss watched over the camp. Both Pokemon rested in the firelight.

Letting out a soft sight of relief at the sight of the two sleeping Pokemon he slowly stood up. Even with everyone asleep he felt the need to remain quiet. As quickly and quietly as he could Steven headed over to the sleeping Mareep.

Approaching the Flaffy sleeping near the edge of the heard he did his best to awaken the drowsy Pokemon. A few gentle nudges and they began to wake, rubbing their eyes while wondering what was waking them. Steven made sure each time he woke one they understood to be quiet by holding a finger over his mouth.

While the Flaffy shrugged off their weariness the boy quickly headed back to the tent. Grabbing his now lighter backpack he placed it over his shoulders, and before heading back to the electric Pokemon he placed another few logs on the fireplace. With everything he needed Steven and the three Pokemon started walking away from the camp into the night.

It didn't take long to get some distance from the camp. The night wasn't dark as clear sky allowed the moon and stars to illuminate the path the group had only just finished walking on. Regardless as soon as he was out of sight of the campsite he had the Flaffy light up their tails and pulled out a small flashlight.

With a click and a surge of electricity the area around him lit up and Steven nearly jumped out of his skin in shock at was was before him. Lisa sat off on the side of the road with a bored expression across her face while Togekiss fixed the young boy with a stern glare. Before the boy could say a word the flying Pokemon hovered over to him and started off on a completely incomprehensible tirade.

"Toge togeki to to toge toooge togekiss geki toge ki toge geki to toge ki geeeki!"

Steven stared at the ranting Pokemon completely flabbergasted, and unable to understand as well, as she continued to rant at him. Eventually she changed her target to Lisa beginning her rant anew and pointing her wing at the young girl several times. She finally rounded on the Flaffy who rushed to hide behind Steven to no avail. This rant was much shorter and to the point with the electric Pokemon not saying anything. Finally Togekiss let out one final 'toge!' before flying off towards the campsite.

"Uh... What was that?" He asked looking at Lisa.

The girl stood up, brushing off her backside, and picked up her own backpack hidden in the shadows, "Togekiss wanted to stop us from doing what you're going to do." She said with a bored tone, "I convinced her to let us go."

"What?" Steven said looking at her, "What do you know about what I'm doing?"

"You're going after Dawson right?" She asked.

"... well... I..." He started fumbling with the words.

"I'm going too." She said not letting him finish.

"What? No you're not!" He replied recovering from his earlier stuttering.

"Yes I am," She said, "You'd never even make it to the forest without me anyways."

"What... no wait... WHAT?" He said aghast, "What the hell is this? How do you know what I'm going to do, How did you convince Togekiss to let us go, How are you going to help me get to the forest."

She slowly began to put on her pack while explaining each of his questions, "Dawson's taking too long to get back. Something happened to him. You were against his plan to start and you would do anything for a chance to one up an adult. You're also more worried than you let on." She said answering his first question, "I explained to Togekiss what we were doing and convinced her to let us go since she was worried about her trainer too. I also explained you would take the Flaffy with you."

Steven blinked several times as the young girl finished putting on her pack, "What? How... This makes even less sense now after you explained it." He said with a frustrated tone, "And how are you supposed to help me at the forest?"

"I was always weird... loony Lisa remember..." She said looking off in the distance with a wistful gaze.

"The forest." He said not liking the lack of an answer.

"I... um..." She said starting to fumble her words.

Under any other situation Steven would have reveled in being able to make Lisa stutter, "Lisa answer me!" he said.

"I... can hear her..." She said quietly.

"Hear her?" He said, "Hear who, why aren't you answering me?"

"I am... I can hear her... Dawson's Gardevoir." She said shivering in the night air, "I can hear her calling me... tugging at my mind... She needs help, and so does he."

"You really are crazy aren't you..." Steven said as he leveled a blank stare at her.

"I'm not crazy!" Lisa shouted back.

"Fine fine whatever, you're not a loon." He said rolling his eyes, "If you're not going back then just don't slow me down with you're craziness."

Ignoring the irate response from Lisa, Steven and the Flaffy headed off towards the forest. Walking down the road they had already traveled allowed them to make good time towards the woods. It hadn't even been an hour until the two had crested the hill and saw the river they had crossed wind it's way though the forest before them.

When they had left the campsite they had heard Hoothoot, Noctowl, and occasionally even a Spearow in the distance. Sounds that let them know other creatures were around and moving about in the night. Only at the top of the hill did they realize that all those sounds had gone quiet.

Both children stood next to each other as they looked down on the forest before them. The treetops reflected the pale moonlight making the woods a sea of silver light that shifted and swayed with the night breeze. Seeing his objective before him finally hammered home just what he was about to do. Gulping down his nervousness Steven took a step forwards towards the woods.

Before he got anywhere he felt a gentle tug on his hand holding him back. Looking down at his hand he found it being held onto by Lisa's as she softly trembled behind him. She held onto him with a force that surprised the young boy. Rooted to the spot she kept taking in calming breaths but her body refused to move towards the forest.

"You know you can go back." Steve said as he tried to pull his hand away.

"N-No... I need to go in there." She replied weakly, "I just... I... don't wanna."

"Well then don't take one of the Flaffy and go back." He said again, failing to pry his hand away from the girl.

"Everything in my head is telling me to go forwards, but my body won't move." She said.

"Oh for the... this is why I didn't want to bring you." Steven said moving stepping in front of her and kneeling down.

"What are you doing?" She asked watching as he put out his hands behind him.

"I'll carry you if you're going to be all loony like that." He said, "otherwise we'll be here all night."

Tentatively Lisa climbed on top of Steven, placing her legs in his arms and letting the young boy carry her. With Lisa on his back the young boy started towards the forest. The Flaffy, who had been waiting for their decision, followed along dutifully. Their light along with the light of the moon lit the way for the two children as they headed to the forest.

"Steven?"

"What loony?" The boy replied hiking her up in an attempt to dissuade her from talking.

"Why are you going?" She asked as she watched the forest grow closer.

Steven paused and glanced back at her, "What, Why do you care? I thought you knew anyways. I'm doing this to spite Dawson." He said

"I know that but there's more to it then just that." She said before blushing slightly, "...And I don't want to think about going in those woods..."

"Well think about going into those woods cuz I don't really want to talk about it." He replied.

"Steven... please." She said hanging onto him a little bit tighter.

"God you're annoying, I liked you better when you were all creepy and emo." He said picking up his pace, "Fine I'm doing this because I don't trust adults."

"you're putting in a lot of effort simply because you don't trust adults." She replied.

"Well did you believe for a second that Dawson was telling us everything about his plan?" He said glancing back at her.

"No."

"Adults lie to us because they think they know best. They treat us like idiots because they assume we're stupid." He said, "I hate that. THAT'S why I do everything they don't want me to do."

"Even if what we're doing is incredibly stupid." Lisa said as she looked up at the forest before them, "I wish it took longer to get here."

"You said you'd help me get though the forest... well?" Steven asked.

Lisa said nothing as she looked up at the trees before them. The Flaffy's light lit up the trees and added to their shadows making them feel taller then they actually were. Doing her best to stomach her fear she extended a hand over Steven's shoulder and pointed towards the forest.

"That way." She said.

"Wait... am I going to have to carry you the entire way?" He asked.

"I don't think I could bring myself to walk through this forest even during the daytime..."

"Crap, I think I was better off just getting lost." He said as he advanced into the woods.


	15. Chapter 15

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. For Dawson's group and many others the next few months are going to be fun alright, fun and cold... but mostly cold.

August 20th

"Gardevoir, on your right!"

"I saw them!" The psychic Pokemon replied throwing out a wave of mental energy.

The trees around them swayed, their leaves and branches twisting outwards from the group, as several Ariados and Spinarak were sent flying into the darkness. Gardevoir watched as the tree branches then shifted back preventing any of the bug Pokemon from approaching in the wake of the psychic blast she sent out. From behind her several bolts of lightning lit up the area around her.

Gardevoir knew she had to focus to drive off the waves of bugs as they attacked the group. Her attention was torn however, as she kept trying to look back at her trainer as he lay in the center of the cart. She couldn't get a chance to check on her Dawson since she moved him. The Ariados and Spinarak kept launching wave after wave of attacks against them preventing her from attending to her trainer.

"Gardevoir, focus! Another group coming from the top of the trees in the front." Luxray shouted to her companion.

She struggled to keep the stream of electric energy firing as the bugs pressed their attack. They couldn't keep moving with the cart behind her still stuck on a tree. It amazed her even now that the vehicle wasn't badly damaged when the Ponyta went off the path and into the woods. They were stuck defending this position though as Dawson was out cold, one of the Ponyta was badly hurt, and the cart was wedged into the tree.

The group of bugs that had advanced to the trees had attempted to rain poison stings down of the area and simply wipe out the defiant Pokemon instead of trying to capture them. Their plan never reached fruition as the tree shifted backwards suddenly before it was violently ripped from it's roots and sent crashing to the forest floor crushing many of the bugs as they attempted to escape.

Gardevoir took a step back and leaned on the cart for a moment to catch her breath. Her eyes had started to form rings around them and she was clearly sweating from the sheer amount of energy she was expending trying to do several things at once. Her normally pristine white dress like body was smeared with the blood of Ariados and Spinarak that had gotten too close and paid the price for it.

"Ponyta, three Spinarak are trying to sneak up behind us!" She said after seeing the result from her future sight.

The fire Pokemon leapt into action and quickly circled the immobile wagon. He managed to arrive just as the Spinarak had crawled out of the shadows around the cart. There was barely even a pause as Ponyta proceeded to bring down his hoofs on the approaching bug Pokemon. Hoofs that could crush diamonds had little issue stomping the carapace of the Spinarak's body.

Biting down on an Ariados that pushed past the perimeter Luxray felt it's body cave under a combination of her jaw strenght and lightning charged fangs, "We can't keep this up forever Gardevoir." She said after flinging the still twitching body off into the darkness.

Gardevoir's response was to step away from the cart towards the darkness. She brought both her arms across her chest and closed her eyes to concentrate. From her body wisps of lavender floated off of her like flames as she drew in a massive amount of power. Opening her eyes she swept her arms outwards towards the advancing bugs.

With the force of a tidal wave, pushing her mental powers to the limit, her psychic attack swept into the darkness surrounding them. The attack shook the trees, causing them to tilt away from the group, snapping off branches and leaves. The Ariados and Spinarak fared no better as they were blown away from the attack getting caught up in a chaotic wave of bugs, leaves, dirt, and wood.

Luxray watched as Gardevoir's side was cleared of any imminent attacks, "You OK over there?" She asked watching the psychic Pokemon lean against the cart again, "Gardevoir, answer me!"

Panting slightly and still leaning on the cart Gardevoir had to snap out of using future sight to respond, "I- I'm fine, Luxray..." She said trying to get her breath back.

Luxray launched another bolt of lightning into the darkness, scoring a clean hit on the thorax of an Ariados, "You can't keep this up, Gardevoir! We're going to get overwhelmed sooner or later no matter how much you can push around trees!"

"We don't... We don't need to keep this up." She replied though breaths, "We'll get help soon."

"Help? From who?" Luxray asked.

Her answer didn't come from Gardevoir but rather several bolts of lightning that arced though the perimeter around them. Looking over to the source Luxray felt her jaw drop at the sight of the three Flaffy approaching as fast as their stubby little legs could carry them. The trio had formed a triangle around Steven as he carried a visibly trembling Lisa on his back.

The three Flaffy looked to Gardevoir as they arrived their eyes seeking direction, "Form a triangle around the cart. Follow Luxray's directions she'll tell you where to shoot!" She directed.

"THE CHILDREN!" Luxray screamed at Gardevoir, "You brought the children into this forest? What is wrong with you, Gardevoir? How could you do that!"

"We'll talk about that later!" The psychic Pokemon explained, "Now we have to focus on surviving."

"You... fine, but we WILL talk about this later." Luxray shouted.

Steven meanwhile had carried Lisa over to the cart. Her hands clenched onto the boy's shoulders while the rest of her body trembled uncontrollably. Her eyes were shut and tears streamed down her face while she mumbled to herself as Steven tried to get her into the cart.

"I hate this place, I hate bugs, I hate this place, I hate bugs, I hate-"

"Yes, Lisa, I get it, you don't like this place and bugs. Will you stop ranting and get into the cart?" He shouted as the sounds of battle began picking up again, "God first you piss on me before we even see any bugs, then you refuse to get off when we do!"

Before she could climb in she opened her eyes to the sight of Dawson as he lay in the center of the cart. His face was covered with dried blood, his shirt was torn around the shoulder, a trail of blood went down to his pants, and Lisa couldn't tell if he was moving. She tried to scramble away only to be pushed over the edge of the wagon and sent tumbling towards the trainer's body by Steven.

She let out a scream as she fell on Dawson. Quick as she could she frantically climbed away and looked over the edge at Steven who was trying to climb in as well. Grabbing his hand Lisa pointed to Dawson as tears began welling up inside her again.

"D-D-Dawson, is dead!" She cried.

"What? No he isn't! He's moving right now." The boy replied pointing behind Lisa.

Sure enough as she turned around she saw Dawson curled up in a fetal position as he coughed and cradled his crotch, "Why" He started before lapsing into a fit of coughs, "Why did I have to wake up like this."

Lisa felt her face go read as she realized her landing must have hit Dawson in the stomach and another vital area. A bolt of lightning stopped her apologizing as the battle continued to rage around the three humans. She heard Steven calling out to her for help getting in but felt her body start curling up into a ball.

"I hate this place, I hate bugs..." She began falling into her mantra again.

Before Steven had a chance to complain about her lack of help Dawson reached over the edge with one hand and pulled the kid into the cart, "What the hell is going on?" He asked the boy.

"What, You don't know? I thought you had a plan for getting though the forest!" Steven said over the din of combat.

"No! That's why I had you guys go ahead. Why are you two here anyways the entire point of me being here is that you guys don't have to!" The trainer replied.

"Blame loony, Lisa, over there. She's-" Before he could finish a psychic smack hit the head of both him and Dawson.

"GARDEVOIR!" The psychic Pokemon screamed at them as she crushed another approaching bug with her mind.

"Right right combat first." Dawson said standing up in the cart and looking about, "Luxray, and you three, Flaffy, listen up! I want you to spam as much lightning as you can into the woods, cause some chaos and try to hit the distant trees!"

All of the Pokemon and Steven looked at the trainer with shock, "Are you insane? What if they start a fire with that?" He screamed.

"That's the point! Now guys, now!" The trainer said.

All four electric Pokemon nodded and turned back towards the woods. Dawson meanwhile ducked down into the cart pulling Steven with him to the floor of the vehicle. From around them the three humans heard the cacophony of lightning being shot around them. For a few brief moments the forest was filled with flashes of light and noise.

In the silence that followed Dawson looked up and about the area, "Holy shit that worked!" He said in awe.

"What did?" Steven said looking about for what Dawson saw.

"We got a minute or two at most before the bugs finish smothering the fire that lightning started!" Dawson said ignoring the boy's question, "Steven, I need you to swap in the third, Ponyta, for the wounded one."

"What? Why don't you do that?" he asked incredulously.

"I think my arm's broken again from the crash, we have no time for you to be difficult.!" He said before addressing the Pokemon, "Gardevoir, once the, Ponyta, is in place I need you to pull the cart from where it's stuck in the tree. Luxray, keep an eye out for anymore approaching bugs."

The Pokemon nodded together and went about their work. The only one who hadn't moved was Steven who had begun to stare down Dawson. The trainer gave him a wave with one hand indicating to him to get to work. With a contemptuous look the boy pulled out the spare Ponyta's Pokeball and leapt off the cart.

Dawson gingerly touched his arm with his good hand and felt the shocks of pain running though it. He was grateful it was the arm that had been stabbed earlier in the day as the Ariados venom was still effectively numbing the entire appendage. Kneeling down next to Lisa he put his good hand on her shoulder.

She was still crying in her curled up fetal position as Dawson spoke to her, "Lisa..."

"I don't wanna be here." She sobbed.

"I know, I know... the curling up into a ball and crying clued me in... but I have to know WHY are you two here, Didn't I tell you go on without me if I didn't make it back? Steven not doing what I want isn't that shocking but why you?" He asked leaning close.

Her first response was a mumble the trainer couldn't hear, "What did you say?" He asked leaning close.

Her response this time was to slowly glance up at Gardevoir as she pulled free the cart. Dawson followed her eyes to his Pokemon and saw her watching the two of them out of the corner of her eyes. As soon as he saw her she quickly looked away and went back to pulling the cart out of the tree. Dawson gave an exasperated sigh at her reaction.

"Dammit, Gardevoir..." He whispered before addressing Lisa again, "Listen I know this place seems to freak you the fuck out, me and Steven are going to go straight for the exit as quickly as we can, stay down and don't look up OK?"

"OK" She whispered.

Looking up he saw the two Ponyta back in the wagon yoke and ready to go. Steven had just climbed into the cart and leveled a irritated stare at the trainer. Dawson, seeing Luxray getting rather skittish as she watched the trees around them, deemed it time to go.

"Let's get moving everyone, Luxray, and, Flaffy, you're in the cart. Gardevoir, I know you're running on fumes here but I need you front and center clearing the way. We'll be talking once we get out of here as well." He said whispering the last part.

The psychic Pokemon averted her eyes and tool up her position at the head of the cart. With everyone on board the Ponyta began moving with little prompting. They kept the cart going but, at the advice of the one who survived the first crash, kept their pace constant rather then fast. They also had to avoid the trees around them which slowed them down as well.

Dawson watched the treeline as the last few patches of fire started to vanish, their light swallowed by the darkness, "Well that didn't last long, I guess these bugs are pretty good about keeping this area from burning-"

"Dawson?" Steven said trying to get the trainers attention.

"-I mean I guess if I lived in what amounts to a giant fire hazard I'd be pretty good at puttinging the fire out." He continued.

"Dawson..." Steven said again.

"Course what I don't get is why there are so many bugs atta-"

Before he could finish the young boy turned, rolled his eyes, and gave a sharp punch to the trainers arm. For a brief few seconds Dawson could only stare at the arm as his brain processed what just happened. At the end of those few seconds it came to the realization that he should be feeling pain and obliged him.

"GAHHHHHHOOOOWWWWWW!' He screamed falling to his knees, "OhdammitallthatHURTS!"

"Well now that your paying attention maybe you should check ahead of us." Steven said pointing to the clearing they were heading into.

Once the pain had dulled slightly Dawson turned and felt his jaw drop at the sight before him. The cart was being pulled into a clearing ahead of them and moonlight streamed down from the sky allowing the group to get a clear view. The pain had vanished completely from his mind as he stared at the clearing.

"Oh my God..."

Before them hundreds of Spinarak and Ariados had gathered in the clearing over a massive web structure. From the edges of the field strands of web attached to the trees and connected to each other as they all lead to the center. In the center dozens upon dozens of silk covered eggs were being attended to by the numerous Spinarak as the Ariados closed in around them.

Nearby Dawson could see one of the many eggs, struck by one of the randomly fired bolts of lightning, split open. The inside was scorched and burned but there was still a few Spinarak climbing out of the egg. From what he could tell dozens of the bug Pokemon had slept inside and only a few survived the electric attack.

Each one smaller then a regular Spinarak to accommodate the greater number per egg. The smaller newborn bugs crawled away from the group to the edge of the clearing. At the edge of the clearing was several cocoons similar to the ones Dawson had seen earlier on the bridge they crossed. The size of the silk containers was much larger as they're prey was also bigger then the random birds they captured along the bridge. Hanging from one of the larger cocoons was a straw hat and hand net signaled to him that prey size didn't seem to stop the bugs. The newborn Spinarak climbed onto one of the many cocoons and injected their fangs into the webs as they began to drain the blood from the helpless victim.

As he looked at the cocoons Dawson's attention was drawn to a hole in the trees around the clearing. visually drawing a line to the opposite side of the field he could see a similar pathway into the trees. It only took a moment for him to realize the route they had strayed from actually made it's way though the field and nest.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Steven asked as the bugs held their ground a couple dozen yards away.

Lisa glanced up and saw the swarm around her, "I hate bugs, I hate this place." She said curling back up into a fetal position.

"Maybe any type of combat here will damage the eggs, notice they're leaving out back open." Dawson replied as he looked about them at the sheer number of bugs.

"So we should attack then, right?" He asked the trainer.

"I hate bugs, I hate this place."

"We attack and they swarm us..." Dawson said as he started searching his pack with one hand.

"Well then let's use our two fire Pokemon then!" The boy said growing nervous at the stares the Ariados were leveling at them.

"Then we have to deal with them swarming us... while on fire." Dawson replied pulling out a small canister from his pack.

"I hate bugs, I hate this place."

"So what are we going to do?" The boy asked looking over with concern at Lisa.

"We make a break for it... umm... again" The trainer said as he brought the canister to the edge of the cart and fiddled around with it near a corner, "Should I be worried my plans seem to resort to that more then they should?"

"Yes." Steven replied.

With his work in the corner done he climbed up the the front of the wagon. As he moved over it the Ariados shifted about nervously as they watched him approach Gardevoir. Getting to the psychic Pokemon he whispered to her and she nodded in approval. Finally he made his way back to the corner of the cart and looked to Steven.

"Steven, this is going to be rough, make sure you keep Lisa on the cart and safe, and close your eyes." He said with a tone that allowed no protest.

The boy nodded quietly and moved next to the girl, placing a protective arm around her. Dawson took in a deep breath to calm himself down. Gardevoir and the other Pokemon, informed of the plan though Gardevoir's mental communication, awaited his command nervously.

"Gardevoir... NOW!" He screamed closing his eyes.

The psychic Pokemon let out a cry and focused what she could into a wave of pure mental energy directly towards the road leading out of the clearing. The blast hit not only the Ariados but the eggs they were defending sending the entire group flying into the air and to the sides. At the same instant Luxray leapt into the air as her body flared with light around them. Her body lit up like a miniature sun as she put every ounce of energy into her flash.

With the flash as their signal the two Ponyta ran forwards pulling the cart along the path Gardevoir had blasted with her psychic power. Before the Ariados could recover from both trying to catch their flying egg sacs and the electric Pokemon's flash attack the Flaffy let their woolly fur expand and multiply as they surrounded the cart with a giant cotton guard. Any counterattacks from the Ariados that didn't get blinded were limited by the wall of fluff.

Steven and Lisa held onto the side of the cart for dear life as it crashed though the clearing and into the woods along the road. Gardevoir felt her feet touch the cart as she gave up maintaining her flight, future sight, and mental communication with the others so she could clear the way of any razor silk barriers. She clung to the wagon as it flew across the road leaving behind the massive nest of bug Pokemon.

Everyone held on as the Ponyta raced though the web filled woods towards the edge of the forest. Gardevoir and Luxray both expected some form of pursuit but from what both of them could tell the Ariados weren't following. Soon the cotton guard wore off and the extra wool fell off the cart allowing Dawson to see again.

Steven raised his head from where he was holding on glanced about the darkness. Lisa had stopped trembling but refused to move from her fetal position inside the cart. Everyone started to feel their heart beats return to normal after all that happened.

Soon everyone could see light ahead of them. The forest exit approached and the group let out a collective sigh of relief as the trees around them ended. Passing though the threshold of the forest the Ponyta kept going for a good few hundred feet before finally slowing down and eventually stopping.

Everyone inside the cart simply looked back and forth from each other hoping someone else would break the silence while wishing at the same time that no one did so they could collect themselves. Eventually Gardevoir crawled over to her trainer and let her hands drift along his arm while her heal pulse mended the bones and repaired the flesh. With a sigh of relief Dawson felt a feeling other then pain start to flow though his arm again.

Once the healing had taken it's course he reached into his bag and started looking around inside it. Finding what he needed he climbed out of the cart and headed to the back corner. Pulling out the can he had placed in the corner he looked back towards the forest and tossed it aside.

Luxray watched her trainer for a moment before turning to Gardevoir, "So explain to me why you felt the need to bring the children into the forest?" She said leveling a glare at the psychic Pokemon.

"I'm not talking about this with you, Luxray." Gardevoir replied looking away as she activated her future sight.

"No I think you are, Gardevoir!" She snapped, "What right did you have to drag the children into this forest! How dare you endanger them co callously. You did that despite, Dawson, doing everything in his power to stop this very thing from happening!"

"I made a judgment call, it was the only way to give us a fighting chance at getting out of there." Gardevoir replied coldly.

"That call wasn't yours to make!" Luxray said, "What happened to not allowing anything to harm these children? What happened to Dawson's Plan to keep them safe?"

"I told you I'm not going to discuss this with you, Luxray!" Gardevoir snapped feeling her psychic powers flare up around her in anger at her companion, "I don't have to answer to you!"

Luxray felt her fur begin to charge with static at the psychic Pokemon's response, "You endanger the lives to children, you better answer to me for that!" She shouted back.

Dawson felt his temples start to throb as both his Pokemon continued to bicker back and forth. "Will both of you shut up!" He shouted into the night air, "I can't even understand you guys which make's whatever the hell you're bickering about that much worse! Stuff it for now and deal with it LATER!"

Flinching at their trainers words both Gardevoir and Luxray glared at each other for a few moments before they both turned and sulked at opposite corners of the cart. Dawson rolled his eyes at the two and looked back at the forest while he tried to catch up on all the racing thoughts in his mind. He knew he'd have to confront Gardevoir about her blatant endangerment of the Steven and Lisa eventually. Right now however his mind was occupied with other thoughts.

He tapped his foot against the strand of silken thread attached to the back of the cart. It lead back towards the web covered woods and likely a few waiting Ariados. Only due to the Cotton guard which had gotten bits of fuzz attached to it did he even notice it. The other thing that had been concerning him was the decision he had made in the center of the bugs nest.

He looked over at the empty canister of lamp fuel he had let empty out as the group fled the woods. The gas smell was faint in the air but clearly distinguishable. On the ground it made up a trail of fuel leading back towards the woods and the center of the bug nest. When he was at the nest the decision to burn everything seemed so much more clear to him, now that he was outside of combat and calming down he began to wonder.

'Do I have the right to do this?' He thought to himself while he held a box of matches, 'I know those things are going to keep spawning and expanding their territory if their not stopped, and if I don't they're likely to follow us back to the others...'

"What the heck is up with you?" Steve asked looking over the edge of the cart.

Dawson looked back at the boy then to Lisa behind him. She had finally crawled out of her fetal position and was now sitting her eyes glazed over and unfocused. With a second more of hesitation Dawson lit a match and tossed it to the ground.

The match hit the dirt and lit a trail of fire along the ground. The fire snaked and crawled it's way though the grass towards the forest in the distance. Any web patches it hit along the way flared up quickly then died out just as fast.

"Dawson... what was that?" Steven asked watching the trail of fire race towards the forest.

"It's one of two things really... either it's an act of environmental damage which will likely get me arrested for quite a long time." He said watching the fire.

The flames had finally made it to the treeline and beyond as it moved into the forest. At first it looked like nothing happened as the two boys watched the small flickering of light from the darkness. Then in the next moment a orange glow could be been seen at the edge of the woods.

The webs had begun to burn which spread the flames throughout the woods like a wave of fire. The mass of silken strands in the trees had lit the branches and leaves of the forest, first one tree, then dozens more started burning. From where the two watched the forest they could hear the sounds of the Ariados and Spinarak struggling to combat the now raging inferno that swept across the forest.

Dawson felt a chill run down his spine as the bugs screams and screeches assaulted his ears. The tree line was visibly burning now as the flames created a yellow glow in the sky. Coughing slightly as a wave of smoke washed over them Dawson climbed back into the cart and signaled the Ponyta to start moving.

"Or it's me making a choice about who's more important... actually it sounds like both right now." He said finishing his sentence.

"What are you talking about?" Steven asked giving him a confused look.

"Sorry kid I was being dramatic, I'm making sure we don't have to deal with those bugs again." Dawson replied.

"By burning down the forest?" The boy asked looking back at the fire behind them.

"By burning down the forest." Dawson repeated.

"... good." Steven said turning away from the sight.

The next few minutes passed by in silence as the cart made it's way to the campsite Joy and the others had chosen. The journey was interrupted when Dawson pulled over the cart near the river they traveled along and hopped out. Both Steven and Lisa gave him confused looks as he signaled for them to follow him out.

"Why are we stopping?" Steven asked.

"Well quite frankly I don't think either of you want to arrive at the camp smelling like piss." He said watching both them blush at his comment, "So both of you take a jump in the river before we go any further."

Both kids climbed out of the cart, Lisa taking great pains not to make eye contact, and headed down to the river. Dawson watched them for a moment before he walked to the front of the wagon and approached Gardevoir. Luxray watched as her trainer approached her companion. The psychic Pokemon had taken great pains not to even look at her trainer since the forest. She looked away when he moved to her front and refused to make eye contact when he stood before her.

"Gardevoir... What the hell is wrong with you?" He whispered as to not attract the attention of the two kids, "I specifically organized this so the kids wouldn't be endangered and in the middle of that crisis we had in the forest I find out not only did you call two of the kids to us but you did it despite one of them being terrified of the forest and bugs?

"I mean you deliberately undermined my decision. What if something had happened to the kids? What if we all died because they got lost along the way or something else happened. You can't go and second guess me like this Gardevoir! I know you want what's best for these kids but you have to trust that I'm doing what's best for them as well. I know how much you've grown attached to these kids... which is why I'm confining you to your Pokeball for the next few days."

His Pokemon didn't respond at his accusation. Her eyes had remained averted the entire time he spoke to her. It was only at the end that she responded at all. As he pulled out the Pokeball her head turned off to the distance towards the camp they were heading too. As Dawson aimed the device at her she took a step towards the direction of the camp her face shifting to one of both worry and horror. Before her trainer could return her to her ball she vanished in a flash of light.

Dawson closed his eyes at the flash, the sudden brightness blinding him slightly, as his Pokemon teleported away, "...The hell, wait what? That's not possible! There's no way she could do that!" He said in shock as Luxray looked about with equal shock, "Wait where did she teleport to?"

Luxray had given up staring at the spot Gardevoir was and was focused on something in the distance. Her eyes grew wide in shock and she started barking to Dawson and pointing off into the distance. Her trainer didn't have to be told twice as he signaled to her to wait and bolted off towards the shore.

"I'm not going to tell anyone alright!" Steven said with a frustrated tone as he and Lisa climbed out of the water.

Dawson ran to the shore and grabbed both their shoes, "Bath time's over get in the cart we have to move" He said urgently.

"Wait we're soaked we need to dry off fi-" Steven said.

"MOVE!" Dawson screamed running back to the cart and tossing the kids shoes inside.

"Wait what's going on?" Steven asked running alongside Lisa towards the wagon.

"And where's, Gardevoir" The young girl added.

"Ahead of us at the camp I'd guess," The trainer said climbing into the front and grabbing the reigns, "Something's happening over there we have to get over there now!"

With that he whipped the straps and the two Ponyta began running towards the campsite in the distance.


	16. Chapter 16

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Lines are crossing, paths are merging, stories are converging.

August 20th

Joy felt herself constantly fighting off sleep as she watched the campfire. The flickering flames danced about her trying constantly to lull her into closing her eyes. Once again her eyelids grew heavy and her head dipped towards the ground. With a sudden jerking motion she snapped her head back up alert for another few seconds. Realizing that sitting down next to the fire was only going to make staying awake impossible the Pokemon nurse stood up and began to walk around the campsite.

Togekiss watched from her perch on top of Torterra as Joy began patrolling around the area. The Pokemon was worried about letting the two children go but felt torn between her surrogate father's command to keep the children safe and her own desire to keep her trainer safe. A brief rant to everyone in what she deemed the 'rescue' party she realized that the two kids would never stay put even if they could understand her. She made the best of the situation by making sure the Flaffy knew to keep them safe. As Togekiss watched the Pokemon nurse nervously pace around the camp she thought back to her early days with her surrogate father.

Born from an egg given to him by Cynthia the first thing she saw upon her hatching was his awed face looking down at her. She was the youngest of all of Dawson's Pokemon born several years ago but she grew fast due to his tender loving care and training regimen. It was all for a payoff that had already happened when she faced off against her biological mother during the Pokemon championships.

She was brought out of her memories as Joy focused her attention towards something off in the shadows of the camp. Togekiss watched as she approached what appeared to be a bush near the edge. The nurse examined the plant as best she could in the darkness while the Pokemon tried to figure out why she felt bothered by how the scene was playing out.

The Pokemon nurse stared out into the darkness around the bush trying to see what had caught her attention. Before her eyes could adjust to the lack of light something whipped out from the black and struck her face with the sound of a whip crack. The blow sent her reeling as she fell backwards into the ground behind her. Bringing up a hand to the injury she felt liquid trickle between her fingers.

Joy heard Togekiss let out a cry of warning as she struggled to figure out what hit her. Looking out into the darkness she felt fear grip her heart as dozens of eyes glowing red from the reflected firelight behind her. At once the eyes began to move and she heard what sounded like the rustling of leaves from all around her. It was at that moment that she realized she, and the rest of the children and Pokemon, were surrounded by an army of Tangela.

As the Pokemon advanced she reached to her waist with her free hand and grabbed the Pokeball resting there. From the mass of grass Pokemon several vines shot out towards her wrapping around her body and binding her arms and legs. However with the ball in her hand all it took was a small wrist movement to release the ball. As the vines twisted around her body she spoke a word before they wrapped around her and started to choke her.

"Gyarados..." She gasped out as the Pokeball hit the ground and let out it's contents with a flash of light.

Rearing his head up high Gyarados looked down at the mass of Tangela around the camp. Letting out a massive roar heard for miles his eyes glowed with a pale white light. It was clear to the Tangela, to Joy, and every other Pokemon that he was currently very angry. The light from his eyes intensified as he aimed his mouth towards the furthest mass of grass Pokemon.

The resulting blast nearly deafened Joy and everyone around the camp. The children who hadn't waked from the noise now shot out of their bed in shock as the blast had enough force to shake their tent. From Gyarados's mouth poured forth a hyper beam of immense power and fury.

The entire area around the campsite was lit up like the sun had personally come down from the sky to greet each person there. The beam shot outwards from the Pokemon's mouth towards the mass of Tangela. From where Joy lay she could feel the heat from the stream of pure energy wash over her face even though it was a good twenty feet away from her. Her ears rang with the sound of the blast as she was unable to cover them thanks to the Tangela vines

The beam had shot straight and true towards it's intended targets. The mass of grass Pokemon had tried getting out of the way only to get caught on themselves in the mad rush to get out of the line of fire. The beam annihilated anything directly hit and within the immediate area, vaporizing the Tangela and turning them into ash. The beam then followed Gyarados's head as he arced the attack around the edge of the camp ripping open a trench as he did so.

Meanwhile Togekiss had leapt off her grassy nest on the back of Torterra as soon as Joy hit the ground. She struggled to climb as her vision swam from a combination of the sudden movement and incomplete recovery from her previous wounds. As the flying Pokemon did her best to rise into the sky the vines from the Tangela shot out towards her, wrapping their tendrils around the white Pokemon. Togekiss fought against them as they attempted to bring her down to the ground, her body giving out much faster then she had expected.

Just as her strength began to fail Torterra's leaves shot though the vines shredding them and releasing his flying companion. In response to the attack the Tangela redirected their attention to him wrapping their vines around his body and tree. Pulling from both ends Torterra let out a cry as he felt them attempting to pull off the plant from his back.

The only Pokemon who hadn't immediately acted was Rapidash as she struggled to stand on weakened legs. Gaining her footing she breathed in a ragged and painful lungful of air. Her body felt like it was full of steel needles as she let lose a large gout of flame. The fire shot out and engulfed the nearest Tangela incinerating them instantly. Rapidash had planned on sweeping the flame around her in an arc but her lungs gave out as she was wracked with a fit of coughing.

Seeing the flame Joy could only watch in horror as the largest mass of Tangela turned towards the fire Pokemon and deemed her as the most important target. From all around her vines shot forwards and began to whip gashes across her body as Rapidash let out cries of pain and anguish under the assault. Wounded as she was no counterattack came from the fire Pokemon as her body was subjected to her own internal poisoning and the merciless treatment under the vines of the Tangela.

From the corner of her eye Joy saw the children, having been woken by the sounds of battle, watching the beating. Their eyes took in the entire beating as they watched with fear and terror at the sight. She wished she could have shielded their eyes to the scene and the sight that came next as Rapidash fell.

As she collapsed to the ground the vines pulled back from their wounded prey giving her a moment of reprieve. It was a short lived mercy as they surged forwards again and wrapped themselves around Rapidash. Hoisting her up in the air they held her above the campsite like a sick trophy of their impending victory. Weakly struggling the fire Pokemon could do nothing to prevent the vines from tightening and twisting her body around.

Closing her eyes she heard Rapidash's pain filled cries as the Pokemon's body began to warp and tear from the stress. The sounds of cracking bones, torn flesh, and ripped muscles filled her ears and made her wish the Tangela would just finish it. Seemingly obliging her the Tangela increased the torque and stress on Rapidash's body as the fire Pokemon's screams pierced the night air.

Joy felt her stomach heave as Rapidash let out one final cry before being cut off by a sickening crunch. For a brief moment the sounds of battle faded as Joy opened her eyes to the sight before her. Rapidash's body was almost twisted in two as the Tangela vines flung the fire Pokemon off into the darkness. She felt tears mix with the trail of blood that now flowed down her face as the mass of vines and eyes now turned their attention towards the camp.

If she thought she couldn't feel any worse she was quickly proven wrong. She was slowly lifted into the air by the vines around her feeling them slowly begin to tighten and she suspected her fate was about to follow Rapidash's. Now hoisted up above the campsite she could see with clarity the efficiency of the attack.

The Tangela that had just killed Rapidash moved towards the children watching from their tents. Even if they could have moved despite their fear they had nowhere to run as the vines shot out and wrapped around them. Pinning them to the ground Joy couldn't even say anything to calm them down as the vines around her were choking the air from her lungs.

Torterra was struggling against the Tangela as they attempted to rip off the tree attached to his back. While they were having little luck the ground and grass Pokemon was completely immobilized and unable to strike back. Torterra wasn't going to fall anytime soon but without help it was only a matter of time.

Togekiss was trying constantly to get close enough to help from the air. Every time she approached however the vines would shoot out and form a net forcing the flying Pokemon back into the air. The Mareep were no better as the Tangela had deliberately forced the herd apart cutting the power they could generate and isolating them. Only the static from their wool prevented them from getting torn apart.

Gyarados was the only one of Dawson's Pokemon capable of fighting back as he charged his hyper beam despite the numerous vines wrapping around him in an attempt to pin him down. With an almighty roar the sea dragon let out another beam of death. The shot ripped into the ground near the campsite creating another trench and annihilating a few more Tengela.

As awed as she was Joy realized that only one Pokemon, however strong, couldn't stop the mass of vines surrounding them. Even with his strength Gyarados couldn't hit the largest mass without murdering the children or his fellow Pokemon effectively cutting his power to a fraction. She realized eventually everyone in camp would die and Gyarados could fire at will killing the rest of the Tangela or they would be left alive just long enough for the grass Pokemon to kill him without fear of retaliation.

Joy didn't have time to worry about much else as she felt her arms and legs being pulled back behind her. The movement was slow and methodical as she first felt her back pop several times before her shoulder began to press into her back. Joy realized, as her body began to painfully twist, that she was being folded just like Rapidash. She couldn't even scream as the vines around her throat were tight enough to allow her to gasp in painful breaths of air.

Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she came to to the grim realization that not only were Pokemon she swore to aid and protect going to kill her, but that they were going to make it as slow and painful as possible as possible. With a last gasp of air she felt the pain black out her mind as she wished she could have at least stopped the children from seeing two deaths in one day.

"Daw... son..." She wheezed as what little breath she had escaped in a pain filled cry.

In the next second every single vine holding up the Pokemon nurse was suddenly severed as what could only be described as an orange blur flashed pass the campsite with such force that the Tangela, tents, and even Togekiss in the sky was buffeted with a blast of wind that nearly knocked them all down. Joy felt herself falling, her arms and neck relived of the pressure put on them, for only a second before strong orange arms caught her.

Weakly she looked up at the round smiling face of the Dragonite that had saved her. Wind whipped by her as the dragon flew though the air. As he arced though the sky Togekiss flew up behind him and let out a chirp. Nodding in agreement Dragonite handed over Joy, who had passed out, before dive bombing towards the campsite. Togekiss watched as he sped towards the camp below and briefly wondered if those were ice burns along his side.

Sheathing himself in blue energy Dragonite charged his dragon rush attack as he sped towards the center of the camp. Impacting the largest mass of Tangela like a comet sent from heaven. His impact sent the plant Pokemon flying in every direction as the blue energy incinerated anything in the center of the blast. The survivors in the the immediate area could only stare as Dragonite prepared his next attack.

Spinning around Dragonite's tail glowed blue as he swept it across the mass of wild Pokemon. His dragon tail attack sending dozen's of the massed plant Pokemon flying off into the distance unlikely to return anytime soon. In response the Tangela organized and began launching their vines at the dragon only for him to leap into the air preparing another dragon rush attack.

With their attention focused on the new arrival Dawson's Pokemon worked to help turn the tables. Gyarados ripped out of as many of the vines as he could charging another hyper beam attack. The Tangela who weren't able to let go ended up whipping about as the water dragon thrashed about.

Torterra, who was still being pulled at from opposite ends, withdrew into his shell causing the vines holding his legs to snap off. Now freed from one side of the tug of war his shell rolled to and then over the Tangela trying to pull off his tree. From where his shell stopped moving a glowing aura surrounded him. All around him the Tangela began to sway then fall as he began absorbing their energy.

The Mareep, now with less Tangela to worry about thanks to Dragonite, began fighting to reform their herd. Bolts of lightning began filling the air as the fluffy Pokemon began to gather together once again. The Tangela were reeling from the combined counterattack. They might have been able to salvage the situation if a sudden flash of light in the center of the camp and subsequent arrival of Gardevoir didn't send them into disarray once again.

Gardevoir's future sight had only seen the end result of the attack after Dawson's group made it back to the camp. What she saw now in the mists of the attack itself filled her heart with pure rage. The children in front of her, pinned and crying on the ground, while the Tangela attempted to use them to shield themselves from her made the calm and cool demeanor she normally held shatter. Howling like a banshee she set upon the nearest Pokemon holding the children.

Screeching in rage, her eyes flaring with psychic energy, she ripped the closest Tangela apart like tissue paper. Her fatigue ignored as she focused on the only two goals on her mind. Protect the children and kill the Pokemon. Any Tangela vines that attempted to bind her were unceremoniously ripped from the offending Pokemon by her psychic prowess. Within seconds the children were free, watching in horror, as Gardevoir ripped into the Tangela. In the next few moments the core mass of vines was broken as the combined assaults of Dawson's Pokemon and the strange Dragonite tore out the heart of the attack. The plant Pokemon turned and routed as the counterattack killed more and more of them.

Gardevoir was about to rip apart one of the last Tangela when Dragonite's dragon rush impacted right on top of it. The orange Pokemon looked up at Gardevoir as she screeched at him before violently smashing him backwards with a psychic attack launched at him. Recovering quickly Dragonite wasn't sure why he was struck when Gardevoir launched another attack at him sending him reeling once again. The attacks were painful for the dragon but not life threatening as the enraged psychic Pokemon continued her assault. Even with all her rage behind each attack the entire day of non stop combat and effort robbed her of any chance of hurting the dragon Pokemon.

With the last attack Dragonite leapt into the air avoiding the blow and staring down at Gardevoir. All he could make out from her enraged screaming was 'stay away' and 'my children'. The other Pokemon looked as shocked as he was from her reaction as they all called out to their companion trying to get her to calm down. Any that attempted to psychically stop her were met with a violent psychic backhand. As Dragonite dodged the next wave of attacked he knew he couldn't stop her with words. With careful precision he drew her away from the children her enraged state preventing her from noticing his subtleties of his actions.

As soon as she was out of blast range of the children Dragonite dived towards her avoiding her last attack. From within his mouth the glowing aura of a charged hyper beam revealed to everyone what he planned to do. Dawson's other Pokemon looked on in shock as the dragon launched his attack vaporizing the immediate area in front of him with the burst of pure energy. The dust from the explosion obscured everyone's vision as both Dawson's Pokemon and the children stood aghast at watching another one of their friends die.

As the dust cleared Dragonite hovered over the crater formed from the blast. He looked back and forth for any sign of the body as it became clearer and clearer a sinking feeling entered his gut as there was not a single trace of the Psychic Pokemon. The dragon immediately began looking about fulling expecting another psychic attack to strike him within the next few seconds. His fears were slightly alleviated when he heard the voice of a human male standing near the far edge of the camp.

"Damn that was a little too close for comfort..." Dawson said holding Gardevoir's Pokeball in his hand.

Inside he felt the weak struggles of his psychic Pokemon as she tried to escape the white and red ball. Her attempts were futile as she had absolutely no more strength left in her. He still felt that he should be careful as he placed the ball in the deepest part of his backpack. Before he could do anything else the Dragonite landed in front of him and slapped both it's hands together in apology.

Dawson would have responded if his attention wasn't drawn to the center of the camp and the mass of crying children. Trying to cope was proving too much as they started wailing and crying from the attack. Many of them had injuries from the rough treatment of the Tangela. From what Dawson could tell May even had a broken arm judging by how she held it.

"Hold that thought Dragonite." He said heading over to the children, "Damn where is Joy in all of this?"

His frustrated complaint was met with Togekiss landing nearby. The Pokemon nurse was sitting on her back having regained consciousness a few moments ago. Looking up at the trainer she let out a choking gasp of relief. Climbing off the white Pokemon she ran over to him, embracing the trainer in a fierce hug.

"Dawson I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Lisa, Steven... I don't know, I didn't see them anywhere." She said crying into his shoulder trying to get it all out, "Rapidash, she..."

The trainer put his arms around her shoulder and held her as she cried into him. Meanwhile Steven and Lisa had climbed out of the wagon. The young boy moved to help the other kids while Lisa began to gather the herd of Mareep together. Both of them acting without prompting much to the relief of Dawson.

"Lisa and Steven are fine. What about Rapidash... what happened?" He asked looking at her.

"Rapidash... she... she didn't..." The nurse tried to get the words out only to be wracked with more sobs.

Dawson tried to look around for the fire Pokemon only to be met with surrounding darkness. He didn't need to see her to figure out what likely happened. He gently led Joy to the wagon and sat the nurse down. Pulling away from her he let her arms wrap around herself for comfort. He felt bad about leaving her in such a state but there was work that needed to be done as he took her Pokeball and released Chansey.

He watched the pink Pokemon as she immediately got to work with an almost fervent pace. Pokeballs allowed the Pokemon inside a certain amount of awareness of their trainers surrounding. Dawson could only shudder at the thought of being trapped in a ball while everyone around you was getting attacked. The thought was made even worse when he considered how many trainers might have been killed before their Pokemon ever got released. His only comfort was that he knew some could release themselves without prompting but they were few and far between.

Before he could do anything else Dragonite tapped his shoulder to get his attention. After receiving it from the trainer he pointed off towards what Dawson assumed was a nearby moutain and then to himself. The trainer gave him a quizzical look before shrugging.

"Really Dragonite, I appreciate you helping my group out but really I don't see a reason why your gesturing like that. I can't understand you and I doubt very much I'd be able to stop you from doing what you need to do." He said looking up at the orange dragon.

Dragonite blushed slightly and nodded in agreement. With a flap of his wings he took to the night sky. Heading off in the direction he pointed towards Dawson watched him fly away into the darkness. He felt safe in sending the Dragonite away since both Torterra and Gyarados were fully alert and ready for any further attacks.

Looking over at Chansey he watched as the pink Pokemon began attending to the wounds of the children. If any of Dawson's Pokemon had a problem with the kids getting priority treatment they were tactful enough to not show it. As each child took a turn within the glowing egg aura of her soft boiled Dawson wondered where his Rapidash was.

He suspected what had happened but fear, and a small glimmer of hope, still gripped him. Looking over at Luxray he called the electric Pokemon over and ran a hand though her blood stained mane. A few whispered words and she nodded in understanding. While she headed off into the darkness to look for the group's wayward fire Pokemon Dawson approached Joy once again.

She trembled quietly, leaning back against the wagon and holding herself for comfort. Dawson could see the red marks along her body from where the Tangela had bound her. The cut along her head was still bleeding but the nurse didn't seem to notice as she stared into the flickering flames of the campfire.

Dawson pulled out a water bottle and a few pieces of cloth, mostly from Joy's old uniform, from the the wagon. Using the cloth and water he began to dab away the blood from the cut working the clean the wound while Chansey tended to the children. With the amount of injuries sustained by the entire group along with Gardevoir incapacitated it was likely Joy's Pokemon would be working until morning.

Cleaning the wound took little time as he gently wiped away the blood and cleaned the skin around her forehead. After that was done he wrapped some of the cloth around her head to staunch the bleeding. Once he was done bandaging the wound he went back to wiping away the rest of the blood on her face.

"Are... Are you hurt?" She asked when she looked at the large amount of blood covering the trainer.

"Nah nothing that can't wait." He said giving her a soft smile, "Although I did break my arm again so I'll probably need you to look at it later."

"Yes..." She said letting the trainer finish cleaning her face.

When he was done Dawson got ready to stand only for Joy to grab his arm. She didn't say anything, only gently held onto him while staring at the campfire. Kneeling down he wrapped his arms around her in a hug and felt the hug returned. For several long moments she simply held on to Dawson.

It was only when he saw Luxray waiting near the edge of the campsite that he slowly pulled away. The Pokemon quietly waited while Dawson pulled himself away from Joy. Heading over the electric Pokemon turned and lead her trainer into the darkness around the camp. It only took a few dozen steps before she came to a stop. With a small surge of energy Luxray glowed softly, illuminating the intimidate area.

Looking at the ground Dawson let out a large sigh at sight before him. Rapidash's body lay on the ground, her form twisted and bend at completely unnatural angles. Her torso was completely folded in on itself as well. She lay in a pool of blood from the many cuts the vine whips had inflicted on her and her eyes were glassed over and dead. Her flaming mane and tail, once proudly showing everyone who saw her how full of life and power she was, was now extinguished. The only sign it had even been a part of her was a trail of ash along her body.

As he stood in front of his Pokemon he felt dozens of emotions flood though his brain at the sight. The 'hows' and 'whys' of this chain of events, the rage and anger at losing a friend, the sadness of knowing he'll likely never see his companion again after tonight, and even the fear that he might lose more before much longer. He realized that if he had been a second slower he would have had to bury two of his Pokemon instead of just one.

Luxray pushed her head into Dawson's limp hand, trying to reassure her trainer as he just stared at Rapidash's body. Eventually he moved his hands and gave his Pokemon a soft pat on her head. Dawson felt tears start to well up behind his eyes as his hand began to tremble while petting Luxray. His breathing quickened and he closed his eyes struggling to hold back the tears.

Swallowing he knelt down next to the electric Pokemon, "Lux... Go help the others." He said waiting for her to head back to the others.

Knowing he still had work to do Dawson brought both hands up, slapping them into the side of his face with a sharp smack. He swallowed again trying to stomach the feeling of tears while regaining his composure. Letting out a forceful sigh he turned back to the campsite and steeled himself against the sadness.

"Dawson?" Joy asked nervously as the trainer approached.

"I'm fine Joy." He said walking up to the cart.

"I... You just lost a friend Dawson, are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied.

"When I found... when I found my sister in Agrico-" Joy started.

"Joy I'm fine!" Dawson replied with a harsh tone cutting off the nurse, "We need to get things ready in case we have to move again."

"Dawson you just lost one of your Pokemon!" She said persisting, "One of your friends, someone who you spent a part of your life with."

The fact that she wasn't letting the issue drop grated on the trainers nerves. He knew her heart was in the right place but he had no time for dealing with her sentimentality. Turning on her he leveled a glare that cut off her next sentence.

"You want to help? Stop helping!" He snapped, "Not everyone deals with grief by crying about it and wanting a hug. Stop trying to press the issue while I take care of things."

With that he walked past the nurse as she stared at the ground in silence. He couldn't see her reaction to his aggravation and he didn't really care that much. Walking over to the children he saw Chansey letting the light from her hard boil fade over the last one. Without missing a beat she immediately headed towards the heard of Mareep and Flaffy.

Before he could say anything however the beating of wings could be heard in the darkness around them. From the shadows approached the Dragonite his form becoming visible in the firelight. Atop his back stood what Dawson assumed was his trainer. As the dragon landed he hopped off and stepped into the light letting the trainer get a good look at him.

The first and foremost thing that caught Dawson's eye was the fact that he wore a tattered cape. He put his disbelief of that particular article of clothing out of his mind as he sized up the newcomer. His outfit was a red and black jumpsuit, it's crimson color matching his hair, that clearly showed signs of use. Dirt covered his boots and attire and in several spots tears and cuts along the fabric made over the last few days.

Approaching Dawson he brought a hand up to his chest and spoke to the trainer, "My name is Lance of the Pokemon G-men and I need your help." He said looking Dawson square in the eyes, "I am in charge of the few left from Blackthorn and I have seriously injured Pokemon and people. Will you help me?"

A few tense moments passed as the two faced off. The children watched with almost awe at the legend that stood before them. Joy could be heard gasping in the background once Lance told them what his name was. Dawson however only let out a sigh and felt his shoulders slump in response to his request.

"Damn, I guess this means Blackthorn isn't safe either." He said with a tired tone.


	17. Chapter 17

Near a cave in the Johto Mountain ranges.

It had been a silent night ever since the sun had retreated past the horizon. Any Pokemon in the area were keeping quiet as many had learned that while they had become more powerful so had everyone else and the same predator and prey rules still applied. Only two Pokemon seemed to consider themselves above hiding as they waited outside the silent cave.

A frustrated cry and snapping sound drew their attention to the shadows that formed around the mouth of the cave. The two passed a worried glance between them before looking back into the cave. Two objects flew out of the darkness and nearly hit Clefairy as she stepped aside. As they passed by her she let out a sigh as she saw the two objects were once a single one, and that now she would have to find a new spoon for the occupant inside.

The other Pokemon turned and leveled an irritated glare into the darkness. Arbok had scars covering his entire body from head to tail and one of his eyes had glassed over indicating it's blindness. His remaining eye was suited for seeing at night allowing him to see the warm body glow of the cave's occupant. As the spoon parts clattered to the ground he let out a hiss at their thrower.

"Ssssurely thissss is a sssign that you have sssuccceded in your task?" He hissed watching the Pokemon inside the cave step forward into the night air.

"Silence your hissing tongue." Kadabra said gesturing to him, "The group would have died at the hands of the Tangela had someone not interfered. Adopt a more respectful tone lest I leave you a crushed and bloody mess like I found you."

Arbok hissed at the psychic Pokemon when he mentioned his loss at the hands of Dawson's Pokemon. His fangs dripped with venom in response to his sudden urge to attack Kadabra. He knew wasn't fast enough but he let the scenario play out in his head just to ease his lust for the psychic Pokemon's blood.

The Clefairy stepped forwards towards Kadabra hoping to stop the fight before it began, "You were able to control dozens upon dozens of Tangela, surprised the group, and the group had split up and you still failed to kill them?" She asked incredulously, "If you intend to get within Ho-oh's good graces something like this wouldn't be acceptable."

"No excuses shall ever be adequate for such a failure this I know. However a Dragonite is a powerful force to contend with and it appears they are meeting up with another group..." He said his brow furrowed in concentration, "I only had time to mentally control the Tangela in the immediate area and that nearly succeeded in killing them all. We must organize more Pokemon if we want to be more then just lackeys in the services of Ho-oh."

"Throw more bodiesss at the problem till they ssswarm all over them and their power?" Arbok asked scornfully, "Sssome great geniusss you are. I'm sssure Ho-oh will appreciate your sssubtlety."

Kadabra leveled a glare at the Poison Pokemon, however instead of reprimanding him he nodded in agreement, "Yes... numbers are important but we cannot rely on them. To take a Dragonite we need more than what we have available. For now we wait and gather forces..." He said looking across the rocks and hills before him to the glowing orange forest fire in the distance, "...after all I'm sure this trainer will hand plenty of Pokemon over to our cause before long."

* * *

><p>The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Yes, only you can promote forest fires.<p>

August 21st

Dawson watched the glow of light start to peak over the horizon as dawn began to break though the morning mist. It felt to him like one of the longest days he had to endure yet. The trainer had been observing the approaching sun with a frown on his face as he recalled yesterdays events. The sheer fatigue he felt after not sleeping at all through the night didn't help his mood much either. He sighed at the knowledge that it wouldn't be the only day that kicked his ass this hard.

As the sun finally started to rise over the horizon, Dawson watched it illuminate the sky while his mind occupied itself with the current situation. His weary eyes stung as the light forced them to adjust to daybreak. No one had gotten much sleep last night with the attack. Even if the children could have gone back to sleep easily after the attack they weren't going to be able to while Dragonite traveled back and forth transporting the few survivors of Blackthorn to the camp.

Despite his fatigue and the inner turmoil he couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation. Working so hard and traveling so far under less than ideal conditions to get to the safety of Blackthorn only to find out the people of Blackthorn finding safety in his group. Worn to the bone and injured beyond all expectation the few people Lance had brought to the camp represented the entire population of the town. Dawson glanced over his shoulder at the four people as they sat near the fire.

_'Four people...'_ Dawson thought watching them huddle close to the fire, _'Four people which of those four, only half are Pokemon trainers. Granted it's Lance and Clair two legendary trainers, but the amount of work Joy and Chansey had to do on their Pokemon...'_

He looked about at the camp taking stock of what he had after the attack. Most of the tents were still functional but they needed repairs after Dragonite's subsonic passes overhead last night had caused them to tear in several places. If it rained they'd quickly fill with water and end up useless for anyone inside.

After the attack the shock of the situation soon wore off for the children. Without Gardevoir to calm them down they spent the next few hours wavering back and forth between absolute terror and traumatized crying. Joy had too much on her plate attending to the new arrivals and their Pokemon to help the children so it was left to Dawson who had no real way of keeping them calm. It was a small mercy that one of the new arrivals, a middle aged woman who's red hair matched Rachael's, was actually the child's aunt. With her tending to the children and helping them calm down Dawson was able to finish preparing the camp for the others.

Standing up he felt his butt fill with a sharp pain telling him that he had been sitting in one spot for far to long. Shifting his head from side to side and reaching out his arms he felt his body protest to the stretching before loosening up slightly. He had been almost motionless for the last few hours staring out into the darkness while his mind dealt with the events and now his body was paying for it.

Turning around he made his way to the ring of makeshift seats around the campfire. He sat down next to Joy, taking care not to awaken the sleeping nurse, who had spent the entire night working, he was glad to see her finally resting. All the adults, sans Rachael's aunt, were now gathered around the fire and Dawson shifted his focus to each one before he stopped at the member of the elite four.

Now that the light had broken over the distant hills he could finally get a good look at him. As he saw last night the dragon trainer had seen better days. His attire was ragged and worn out, with many recent tears and rips across it. It was only in the sunlight that Dawson could clearly see his face. Lance looked almost older, as if the recent days had aged him prematurely. Likely a result of the chaos around all of them, after today Dawson speculated he looked older as well.

"I didn't think a single campsite offered enough space for people to be in other areas... but now that we're all here we should talk about this." Lance said breaking the silence as he met Dawson's stare.

"What's there to talk about?" Clair asked as she rested her face on her hands, "Everyone else at Blackthorn is dead, almost all my Pokemon are dead, Karburagi is dead as well... and everywhere we go only serves to kill off more of us. What point is there left in even bothering Lance!"

"We can't just give up! I lost friends and Pokemon too but we have to keep trying to fix this." He shot back standing up, "We can't let anger and hatred get the better of us Clair! We need to figure this out so we can come up with a solution."

"Can you bring people and Pokemon back to life?" The gym leader asked bitterly.

"No..." He responded weakly.

"Then there's no solution to this mess, and don't tell me what to do with my anger." She said venomously.

Before Lance could respond Dawson's voice cut into their tirade realizing this wasn't their first spat. "This argument isn't helping matters, Clair if your going to be difficult then do it in your head." He said before looking over at Lance, "What happened in Blackthorn? I'm getting the impression here that my group has had it easy so far... relatively speaking." He said fighting the urge to look over at Rapidash's body.

Oen of the first things he did as soon as the battle was over was cover her body with a bag. He wanted to prevent the children from being traumatized even further by leaving the body out. He would have liked to return her corpse to her Pokeball but he didn't know if it was even possible to do something like that and he didn't feel like experimenting with her deceased body.

"It was... horrible." Lance started sitting down and looking though Dawson as he remembered, "The day our Pokemon went crazy the town was wrecked. Dragon Pokemon are powerful as is but the sheer destruction. If that wasn't bad enough the first night all our Pokemon had passed out, Zubats, Golbats, and Crobats swarmed out of the hills. They... They killed so many people." He said his face paling slightly.

"My... My sister, She's dead then?" Joy asked tentatively as Dawson put a hand on her shoulder.

"You should be sleeping." He said to her.

"No... not yet, I need to know." She replied, "Lance?"

Lance looked over at her and met her stare with a remorseful face, "Yes Joy... I'm sorry there was nothing we could do. We would have all died if it wasn't for the old Dragonite at the dragon holy land. He saved us and helped the survivors get to the holy land. From there we planned to work out what happened but then." The dragon trainer said pausing to cover his face in frustration, "Suicune... of all the Pokemon to show up it was Suicune..."

"Suicune? It can't be. He has always been a protector of the environment, working to purify water and helping Pokemon." Joy said her eyes widening.

"He attacked, and nearly killed everyone who had made it to the Dragon Holy Land." Lance said continuing, "It was only thanks to the Holy Land's Dragonite and Karburagi that we managed to get away. He lead our recovered dragons in a battle they all knew they couldn't win."

"Who's Karburagi?" Joy asked.

Clair's face filled with anger and sadness as Lance responded, "He was the gym's referee and Clair's friend." Lance said

"So then how did you manage to survive without Pokemon?" Dawson asked.

"Some of our Pokemon, my Gyarados and Dragonite and Clair's Dragonair, had been injured in the fight against the bats." He said pulling out his two Pokeballs alongside Clair holding out her one, "When Suicune attacked they were the first targeted so we recalled them early on."

"That explains the other injuries then the ice burns on your Pokemon." Joy said.

While Joy and Lance discussed the injuries to their Pokemon Dawson took the moment to glance over at the aforementioned Pokemon. Torterra was looking up at Dragonite and the two were apparently conversing with Togekiss resting on top of the tree along his Pokemon's back. Lance's Gyarados was likewise focusing his attention on Dawson's own water dragon. The trainer was just glad the two felt like talking, Gyarados got along well enough with each other but whatever had changed the Pokemon might have made them territorial as well.

Looking back to the group he saw Clair watching him with an expression he couldn't quite place. As soon as their eyes met she looked away her dour expression saying with an unspoken voice 'don't talk to me'. There was a lull in the conversation and Dawson chose to step in putting Clair's actions out of his mind. He decided to ask about the look later though.

"So now we're stuck with a much larger group without the food or shelter to support them." He said with a hint of irritation in his voice, "Unless you and yours managed to carry away tents, food, and sleeping amenities in your exodus from Blackthorn."

"No we barely had enough time to get ourselves out." Lance said defensively.

"Don't get riled up it's just without food or amenities I'm not sure how long we'll be able to last out here." Dawson said bringing a hand up to scratch the short hairs around his face, "I had hoped we could have restocked at Blackthorn and then figured out what to do in the relative safety of the city... I didn't bank on that however. We have enough food for our group to eat comfortably for a days after that but with an extra four adult mouths to feed we're going to have enough for another day or two at best."

Lance fixed the trainer with a concerned look, "And after that?" He asked.

"After that we have a little under a week before we're really fucked." Dawson replied flatly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lance asked.

Joy replied to the dragon trainers question giving Dawson some more time to think, "After the food runs out we'll have about five to seven days of being able to operate without much issue, after that our ability to do much of anything will quickly deteriorate. We'll get affected by things like weakness and our judgment and critical thinking skills will drop considerably. After that I'm pretty sure we'll just get killed in our weakened state. That's also if we have access to a ready source of water as well. I think the kids will be affected sooner then us as well." She said.

"What we need is shelter and access to a water source." Dawson said sighing at his lack of knowledge about the area, "I have maps of the region but nothing is even remotely close to where we are. Blackthorn was the best option by a long shot."

"So what are we going to do then Dawson?" Joy asked looking at the trainer.

"We'll leave then." Lance said standing up and looking resolute.

"Lance!" Clair said looking at him in shock.

"I'm not going to have these people suffer on our account. We'll manage like we have over the last few days." He said looking over to the tents where the children slept, "I can't make these kids suffer for our sake."

"Oh sit down and stop being melodramatic." Dawson said looking up at the dragon trainer with a tired expression, "Like I said we have food for a couple of days still... and don't tell me you actually thought you'd be getting full meals? I'm planning on making those two days of food last as long as possible up to and including cutting back on all the adults meals, if we all work with a single meal a day we should be able to get two more days at least."

Whatever bravado Lance had been building up trying to separate his group from Dawson's was quickly deflated by the trainers assessment of the situation. The other survivors from Blackthorn then had the unpleasant emotional roller coaster when listening to the two. From dread at leaving what appeared to be a stable group to relief hearing that they could stay then finally dread once again at hearing they'd be going hungry for the next few days if they were lucky.

"For now though I think it would be best to just rest for awhile. I want the kids to get some more sleep and I need to consult the maps I have to see what we could possibly aim for." Dawson said, "If you guys know any place near here that has shelter and water tell me."

"What about Mahogany Town?" Lance asked, "It's not that far and we-"

He was cut off by an irritated sigh from Dawson, "No Lance, Major cities or minor towns are out." He said with tone of finality.

"What? How can you say that? Pyrce is there and he's a gym leader like Clair. I'm sure he'd be willing to help us." Lance replied.

"Agricola, Goldenrod, and Blackthorn." Dawson countered holding out his hand and ticking down a finger for each town, "A major population center, a remote farming village, and a secluded mountain town with a gym. All of them destroyed or uninhabitable in whatever way. I'm pretty sure that's the case everywhere we go. Even if it isn't I'd doubt I'd want to be anywhere near one when the Pokemon do choose to attack."

With that he stood up and left the others to sit by the campfire soaking in his frank assessment of the world. Walking up to the wagon he reached into his backpack for the maps he brought from Agricola. His back to the fire and leaning against the wagon he unfurled the map of the Johto region and began to examine their immediate area. An ache in his shoulder caused him to reflexively bring a hand up to rub it softly. His thoughts and actions were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Dawson, can we talk?" Joy asked tentatively approaching the wagon.

"About what? If it's not immediately important I'd like to get to work finding out a place to go." The trainer replied with a hint of irritation.

Joy paused for a moment while she watched him pour over the map, "It's not that important, I'll... talk with you later then." She said sadly.

Dawson could hear her walk away. He couldn't see where she went but he assumed it was back to the campfire. After a few moments he looked back at the map trying to regain his train of thought before being interrupted. Just as soon as he was able to refocus the sound of more footsteps reached his ears.

"Excuse me Mr. Dawson?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

Inwardly he sighed at the second interruption and turned around. It was Rachael's aunt who was approaching this time. Folding them map in half he gave her a tired look.

"What is it, miss...?" He asked letting the question linger in the air to indicate he didn't know her name yet.

"It's Rosemary and it's about the children, Rachael in particular." She said stiffly unsure how to address the trainer, "First off I want to thank you for keeping her safe. From what she told me it sounds like you had your hands full with them..." She said pausing for a moment to consider her next words.

"But?" Dawson prompted hoping to get the conversation over with.

"But... when I asked about her parents... she was stuck with a pain in her head and didn't seem to be able to recall." She said.

"Well her parents, along with almost everyone else from Agricola, died." Dawson said abruptly.

"That's not what I was worried about. I was much more concerned about the pain she experienced at trying to remember." She said with a hint of irritation in her voice at being interrupted.

A moment passed between the two before Dawson sighed out a response, "Listen it's been a hard trip and really I haven't interacted with the children all that much beyond telling them how to set up tents and shit. I really haven't noticed that at all." He lied while unfolding the map, "Honestly if it's only when they think about the recently deceased then I say don't try to get them to think about them."

"Don't you think that's incredibly irresponsible?" Rosemary asked somewhat aghast.

"Yes, and at the same time no." The trainer replied, "We don't have the luxury of being able to worry about that kind of stuff if you haven't noticed."

"But..." Her reply got caught in her throat when she remembered the carnage around her when she fled the city and dragon holy land, "It doesn't seem like something we shouldn't worry about."

"If it's not affecting their ability to survive I'm not really going concern myself with it." He said, "If we ever get to a safe spot then, and really only then, will I start looking into that stuff." With that he unfolded the map and went back to scouring it for someplace to go letting Rosemary know he considered the conversation over.

"Sticking your head in the ground isn't any way to treat these children." She replied.

Only silence was Dawson's response as he continued to look over the map. He continued to ignore her until he heard her footsteps stomp away. He let out another sigh and went back to staring at the map. Finding where he was just looking at was becoming difficult as he was losing track of progress so far. It was proving so difficult that when Lance walked up to him with a earnest face he nearly crumpled the map in frustration.

"Dawson I think-" Lance started before seeing the veins on the trainers forehead, "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Strangled noises and teeth gnashing was Dawson's only response before he finally composed himself enough to reply, "Fine... Lance, just fine. What is it?" He said with clear irritation.

"You know your attitude is kinda surprising, most people tend to hero worship me a bit." Lance quickly got back on track after Dawson gave him a stare telling him to 'get on with it', "Anyways I think I figured out a place where we could go."

Looking up with interest Dawson pushed his irritation to the back of his mind, "Really where?" He asked laying the map out as flat as he could on the back of the wagon.

Lance scanned the map for a moment before pointing towards a lake fairly close to their group. Dawson studied the map for a second taking in the area around Lance's finger. Only after the Dragon trainer pulled his digit away did Dawson see the name of the lake he was pointing to.

"Lake Rage?" He asked looking at Lance, "Seems like an odd choice... do I dare ask how it got it's name?"

"It has a larger then average number of Magikarp in it which evolve into..." He let the question hang in the air for Dawson to figure out the answer.

"Gyarados, and you think this is a good place to go?" The trainer asked.

"Yes, it's unlikely that there would be any Gyarados there this time of year." Lance reassured.

"Even so it seems dangerous to even risk it. Our own Gyarados aren't exactly in tip top shape here, yours is wounded and mine is fatigued and underfed. I can't see it being worth it to take that chance." Dawson said studying the map and area's around the lake.

"But you haven't even heard the reason I suggested it. There is a shut down team rocket base there!" He said pointing to one side of the lake, "A year or so ago I busted some sort of forced evolution lab there. After the incident the government shut the place down and it's somewhat languished in the elements but it has all the requirements that you stated, four walls, a roof, and even a large body of water nearby. I think most of the supplies there were confiscated by my superiors but it should still be intact."

Dawson's brow furrowed at the description of the place, "It certainly sounds like it's suited to our needs, I'm just nervous about the Gyarados they don't exactly mesh well with me." He said.

"Why you seem fine around your own and mine." Lance said looking at him.

"Well I trust my own Gyarados and that trust extends a bit to other trainers and their own water dragons... but wild ones are a world apart in terms of temperament." He said letting out a sigh, "But you're right, it's too good a location to pass up. If you would be so kind could you wake the children and tell them to start packing up?"

"We're not letting them rest more?" Lance asked.

"Can't, this area isn't safe. I would have liked to give them more time to sleep but that just isn't in the cards." Dawson replied with a sigh, "Hey you said you were a Pokemon G-man right?"

"Yes, My job was to make sure people weren't abus-" Lance started being being cut off.

"Yeah yeah keeping Pokemon safe and all that jazz. That's not what I'm asking about." Dawson said cutting him off, "I want to know what the G part of your title is doing about this."

"What?" The dragon trainer asked.

"What is the Government doing about this?" Dawson replied with an exacerbated tone.

"I-" Lance started before pausing.

"You?" Dawson prompted.

"I don't know." He said, "When I found about about this I dropped everything I was doing and rushed to Blackthorn to check on Clair and the others."

Several moments of silence passed between the two as Dawson studied Lance. The dragon trainer was clearly remorseful. He refused to make eye contact and a blush could be seen on his face even in the early morning light.

"Have you tried to contact them yet?" He asked preferring to avoid another confrontation he let the dragon trainer's impressionability slide for now.

"Yes... But communications everywhere are down. I can't contact my superiors, I can't contact my friends, I can't reach anyone." Lance replied sadly.

Dawson let out a sigh at the news, "Then this is likely the worst case scenario." He said.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

Dawson looked back at the campfire then to Lance, "OK keep this between us, but I've been seeing this as less of a random event and more like a calculated attack." He said in a low voice.

"You can't be serious." The dragon trainer replied.

"Think about it for a minute." Dawson said folding up the map, "Cities have been actively attacked here Goldenrod was hit by Raikou along with a horde of water Pokemon."

"What? I didn't hear about that." Lance replied in shock.

"Course you didn't you were heading to Blackthorn... which was then attacked by Suicune. Two legendaries going after major population centers? Alongside Pokemon who they don't normally associate with?" Dawson said phrasing his questions so the implications were clear, "Then we have Pokemon actively trying to hurt humans despite no instigation. To top it off this follows two major rules of combat. 'strike before your opponent knows what you're doing' and 'take out communications'. Both of those have been done so far. Both radio and satellite has been blocked in some way shape or form preventing anyone from communicating any of this to anyone else."

"I- I can't believe that... there's no way... it's impossible for something like that to happen." Lance said with a weak voice.

"Yeah I kinda figured you'd have issues with my assessment of the situation." Dawson replied. "Honestly and truthfully I kinda hope your naivety is more in line with reality then my pessimism... however, until I see evidence saying otherwise I'm going to act according to my interpretation of these events. Now if there is nothing else we need to get everyone moving."

"Alright..." Lance said shaking his head as if to throw off his melancholy attitude, "Dawson, I don't know if this is some kind of attack on us humans... but like you until I see more than coincidence I'm going to assume that this is somehow not the worst possible situation. I can't ever think that the Pokemon we live with are so filled with hate that they'd want to kill us."

With that he turned and headed back towards the camp, "Well good luck with that ideology." He said to himself with sarcasm as he brought his hand up to rub his shoulder again.


	18. Chapter 18

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Seriously the Team Rocket base from 'Rage of Innocence' shouldn't look so... pretty. The only thing that made less sense about it was that Jessie and James could somehow mistake it for a farmhouse.

August 22nd

Joy watched as Dawson fly away from the group on the back of Togekiss. He had told her before he left that the clouds overhead would provide perfect cover for him and he had two of his Pokemon with him, so she shouldn't worry. She did anyways.

She didn't want him to go, but he was adamant that someone had to check out the facility before they got there. He explained to her that with both Lance and Clair he could finally move about with some level of freedom with them there to keep everyone safe. Their battle experience and Pokemon were capable enough to work with his own to keep everything away.

As Dawson's form vanished into the clouds overhead she quietly whispered a small prayer for his safe return. She turned as Lance began getting everyone moving. He had protested along with her about Dawson's idea to go check out the building. Both of them were overruled, however, solely due to the fact that neither one of them could actually stop him without using force. It seemed like Lance might have considered it until Clair intervened on Dawson's behalf confirming his belief that they needed to know what they were getting into. Joy didn't know why but that irritated her slightly.

As the kids finished up their cart and Lance gathered the rest of the adults together in preparation to head out Joy began searching the area. Head down she looked about in the grass, the Tangela had been piled up when she was tending to the wounds of the Pokemon. Eventually, after a few minutes of searching she found what she wanted. With a gentle pull she picked a small flower from the ground.

Carrying it over to the black trash bag that Rapidash's body lay under she quietly whispered a few words and placed the flower on top of the bag. She then closed her eyes and brought her hands together in a silent prayer for the deceased Pokemon. When she opened her eyes she saw May staring at her with a curious look.

"Ms. Joy?" She questioned.

"I'm just saying thank you to Rapidash. " Joy said solemnly.

"Oh..." Before Joy could explain further May headed over to where she had been previously, grabbing a flower, and bringing it back, "Can I say thank you too?" She asked.

Despite the grief she felt over the death of Rapidash Joy couldn't help but smile a little, "Of course May." She said watching the child place the flower near hers.

By the time the group left eight more flowers rested on top of Rapidash's body.

* * *

><p>The clouds had gathered over the night and carried an air about them that promised rain soon. They covered the sky over the Lake of Rage as it's clear waters remained still, it's waters forming a dark gray mirror to the sky above. Quiet and calm the lake seemed determined to fall out of line with the rest of the world and it's new chaotic life.<p>

The lake seemed an almost pristine natural paradise, unblemished and untarnished by anyone. Except for the two large structures located in inside a clearing near the edge of the water. The two buildings weren't built like normal offices or apartments the slopes of the roof connecting to the ground belied their creators intent to have something not only useful but ascetically pleasing as well. The royal purple with gold highlights cemented the feeling that whoever built these structures had far too much freedom in design.

When it was used it would almost pass for a high end hotel but time spent weathering the elements with no one to maintain it had taken their toll. Grass had started to grow in an unruly fashion about the base courtyard, the paint was chipping in several areas and something had knocked down the radio tower that had once dwarfed the facility. Various craters also dotted the nearby ground and building showing the signs of a battle having been fought here some time ago.

From the clouds above the building a white blur shot down to the ground like a bullet. No sound was made as Togekiss raced towards the earth at staggering speeds. Dawson was doing everything he could not to let his grip slip while his Pokemon flew faster then he had ever been able to recall. Like a dive bomber Togekiss flew straight and true towards the earth, pulling up a second before hitting the ground.

Dawson had determined the front entrance to be the long corridor that extended out from the larger of the two buildings. His assertion was correct as Togekiss rapidly decelerated and Dawson let himself slide off the back of his Pokemon. His feet hitting the ground he held on to her tail as she slowed and he slid along the ground aiding in her rapid breaking by anchoring himself to the ground. Dawson only slid for what he guessed was about ten feet before Togekiss finally lost all her forward momentum.

"Not bad this time Toge." He said brushing off the dirt on his boots, "You're getting faster aren't you?"

She smiled and nodded letting out a cheerful chirp at her trainers praise. The door before them was ajar letting in a little light inside. Dawson pushed open the doors and the rest of the light from the outside flooded inwards towards the hallway.

"Wow these guys had a serious hard-on for Persians." Dawson said looking at the hallway lined in it's entirety with Persian statues.

Rolling his eyes he headed into the dark facility. The only light was from windows to the outside, whatever had been powering the lights ran out long ago. The entire place took on a much more eerie feel when the lack of illumination was combined with the utter silence within the facility.

As he walked though the buildings corridors he couldn't help but wonder where the Pokemon were. Abandoned buildings often attracted them like children to playgrounds. The shelter from rain, clothes and other fabrics to make nests with, and even leftover food and electricity drew all types. But as he walked though the empty halls he couldn't hear or see any sign of inhabitants. The facility was completely deserted the only trace of habitation by Pokemon was the dust shifted by his Togekiss.

After making a roundabout trip though the buildings edge, the interior he planned to explore once he had Luxray for light, he had seen enough of the place to agree with Lance's assessment of the location. Short of a few areas that had been cleared out of their equipment, computers and machines mostly, the entire facility was still in fairly good shape. His fears about how little the place had in supplies was put to rest when he saw the large number of rooms completely passed over in favor of getting more important things out.

"That's our government's work alright, take everything valuable and leave everything else for 'someone else' to deal with." He muttered earning him a confused look from Togekiss.

He made his way out though the fire exit on the side of the building facing the second structure. He quickly crossed the open space between the two buildings, hoping no Pokemon around the area saw him, and made his way to a side door along the wall. The door was unlocked like every other door he ran across so far. With care not to make too much sound he pushed it open and looked inside.

It was a large storage area from what he could tell. Designed less for boxes and more to contain something large within the pool in the center. The pool had a shutter garage door facing the lake which was large enough to fit a sizable boat within. Looking around and seeing no Pokemon Dawson figured this area was the best place for what he was planning.

"Togekiss stay out here and guard the door," He said earning him a concerned look from his Pokemon, "Whatever you hear inside... stay out OK?"

The look he received from his Pokemon clearly showed her distress at the order. Before she could chirp any type of protest he closed the door behind him and locked her out. Letting out a sigh at the abruptness of how he dealt with her Dawson reached to his waist and pulled out a Pokeball.

The red capture light in the center had gone dark and the insides no longer stirred as much as when he recalled Gardevoir late last night. For several long minutes he stared at the ball debating his next course of action. With as much resolve as he could muster he pressed the release and let his Psychic Pokemon out.

With a flash of red light she was released facing away from him like most Pokeballs are designed to do. For a moment he thought she might have been sleeping or unaware that she had been summoned. That thought was smashed out of his mind when she whipped around and sent a massive burst of psychic force at him. Slamming into him he was launched back impacting into the far wall.

From where he hit Dawson felt his chest being pushed back against the metal of the building pinning him in place. Looking up he felt a fear grip the pit of his stomach as Gardevoir advanced on him. Her eyes had taken on a purple hue and wisps of psychic energy flickered off of her like fire. What scared him, however, was the look of pure rage upon her face.

"GARDEVOIR!" She cried out.

She closed the distance between them in a second. Her arm outstretched to keep the force upon him while she floated right up to his face. While she only said one word her mind, invading his in an intrusion of privacy he never expected, made it perfectly clear what question she was demanding of him.

"WHY?" A question asked in so many words and ways Dawson couldn't even comprehend.

He felt the pressure on his chest tighten as she mentally demanded an answer for why he stopped her last night. Every second he delayed the pressure grew. He wondered briefly if she would kill him for stopping her last night. She was as enraged and aggressive as she was last night. Dawson actually figured she might be even more so, trapped in the ball with no way of knowing if the children were alright weakened to the point that she couldn't escape. His mind made the conclusion that she likely would as he heard a crack within his chest that he assumed was a rib.

He realized that he couldn't even answer her anymore with the pressure forcing out the air in his lungs. Only though luck did he notice that he was only pinned against the wall by his chest. Reaching out with speed that even surprised even him Dawson grabbed Gardevoir's head, the green along her head feeling more like flesh the hair, and brought her skull up to his. Slamming their heads together he felt her forehead impact his with enough force to cause Gardevoir to stagger backwards stunned and confused.

The pressure on his chest gone he took several wheezing breathes before stepping forwards and grabbing her by the neck with one hand, "THAT..." He lifted her into the air, her ability to float making her light enough to pick up, and threw her into the nearby pool, "HURT!" He shouted feeling the pain in his chest.

As Gardevoir crashed into the water, soaking him with the splash of her impact, he walked over to her surprised struggling form. Once again grabbing the green of her 'hair' he shoved her back under the water. Holding her struggling form for a few seconds he lifted her back up before dunking her again. Bringing her up a second time he lifted Gardevoir's shocked body out of the water and tossed her onto the ground.

While she gasped and sputtered on the ground near him Dawson took this time to take in a few lungfuls of air. He ignored the pain in his chest while watching his Pokemon for her reaction. Still coughing out the water she had inhaled when he pushed her under the water he opted to get his words out now before she fully recovered and retaliated.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Gardevoir!" He shouted as she looked up at him with a mixture of shock and fear, "I trusted you! You're one of my strongest Pokemon and the one I felt safest trusting the children to! And now your attacking me, refusing to sleep or rest, and even lashing out at Pokemon who are trying to help! What the fuck! You almost got yourself killed and possibly even some of the children because you went off half cocked and forced that Dragonite into a corner. You think you can protect the children like this? Rapidash is dead now because this world doesn't allow for stupid shit like this anymore. I should leave you inside your ball permanently if you're going to be a liability like this!"

Gardevoir had recovered enough to stop coughing and look up at her trainer. Dawson's violent actions snapping her out of her rage filled haze. His words tore into her as her expression changed from shock and fear to horror and remorse as his words struck home. As soon as Dawson stopped talking she stood up, backing away slightly.

Turning around Gardevoir ran away as fast as she could her mind reeling at the thought that she could have hurt the children, and did hurt her trainer. She didn't care that there wasn't a door at the other end as she raised her arm, intending to blow open a hole in the wall and escape before she hurt her trainer again. To run away and keep herself away in the hope that she could never hurt him or risk hurting the children. Before she could create her exit, however, a beam of light struck her back and she was recalled back into the Pokeball.

"Don't you dare run from this." Dawson said glaring at the ball and pressing the release.

With another flash of light Gardevoir reappeared in front of him. Her forward momentum gone she remained stationary before her trainer. Like last time she her facing was away from him and she refused to turn around and look at him. That suited him fine as he didn't need to face her to talk to her.

"You made a stupid idiotic mistake and it was solely luck that it didn't cost you your life." He said his voice taking on a steely tone, "Don't you dare make the same mistake now, As much as a loose cannon you are now I still need you to work on the kids minds. And we also need your power and your future sight now more then ever."

He let the last sentence hang in the air as he walked forward and grabbed Gardevoir by her shoulder, turning her towards him. Tears flowed down her eyes as she faced her trainer looking down she looked at his chest where her power had wounded him just moments before. Her hand slowly reached out to his chest as she attempted to heal the damage she caused. Before she could make it to the broken bone Dawson's hand came up and wrapped around hers stopping her from reaching his wound.

"But let me make myself perfectly clear." He said his grip tightening, "If you ever do something like that again, if you ever refuse to listen to me... you're going back in your Pokeball and you are never coming out. I don't care if you're my most powerful Pokemon, I don't care if you just wanted to take care of the children, I don't care if you can see the future... you betray my trust like that again and you're done."

With that he let go of her hand and let her take a few steps back. She looked into his eyes with horror and fear. Pulling out her Pokeball he saw Gardevoir look to the red and white sphere with apprehension while her mind went over what he just said. He held it out in front of her with it's recall butting facing her.

"If you can't accept this then leave now..." He said.

He watched her hesitate in front of him. Eventually she closed her eyes, wiping away the tears from her eyes. She took in several deep breaths calming herself down. When her eyes opened up again she looked clearly into Dawson's eyes and he felt her mind once again reach out and touch his.

Her emotions flooded into him forming the words she was trying to say but couldn't, 'I'm sorry' She thought to him before touching the recall button and vanishing in a flash of light.

Silence engulfed the room as Dawson was left with himself and his painful breathing, "God dammit times like these I wish I was one of those trainers able to fully talk with his Pokemon... this one way, one word, conversation crap just isn't going to cut it." He said turning to the door and heading outside, "Togekiss, time to head back and let the others know this place is safe."

He winced with his words then even more when Togekiss rushed over to him and nuzzled into him with concern. As he pushed off his Pokemon he realized that the ride back was going to hurt like hell. Before he climbed on he looked down at his wet cloths. Sighing to himself he patted Togekiss on the head and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hold on a while Toge, I'm going to go get something." He said heading back to the main building.

Stepping inside he made his way though the dimly lit corridors. Past open doors and hallways he moved with purpose. Until he felt his vision swim. His legs grew weak and he felt himself fall to the side hitting the wall with a painful impact, his broken rib throbbing in pain. Taking several deep breaths he let himself lean against the wall while he let the vertigo subside. After several long minutes he felt his strength return. Taking tentative steps he started walking again, intent to get what he needed and back to the others.

* * *

><p>Away from the facility, and nearer to Blackthorn, Dawson's group slowly moved along down the road Lance had directed them to. It was a standard dirt route that many trainers found themselves traveling on while taking their journey. The children and Nurse Joy had all grown accustomed to such traveling by now. If anything Dawson's constant of having them run themselves ragged made them tougher then the new found adults that now accompanied them.<p>

Clair watched as Lance once again held up the group for the adults to have a break. He, Rosemary, and Eric all seemed to be on their last legs from the sudden need to travel and lack of overall exercise. She had been able to keep up with the children with little issue, her hikes into the Blackthorn mountains to train and perform the dragon fang purification ceremony had kept her fit enough to keep up the pace.

With nothing better to do she leaned on the cart and watched as Lance regaled the children with his awe inspiring stories of his time as a Pokemon G-man. They had gathered around him while he sat on a rock and recovered from the journey. The nearly all the kids sat around him, listening to his most recent story with rapt attention. Only Steven, who was at the back of the wagon adjusting things and grumbling to himself, wasn't listening.

"So there they were, both Groudon AND Kyogre squaring off against one another with Team Aqua's leader Archie is mad with power from the orb, commanding Kyogre and forcing him to cause more destruction and violence." He said holding up his hands to add emphasis to his story, "Groudon had Ash's Pikachu riding on his head protecting the legendary Pokemon from Kyogre's attacks."

Lance continued his story while Clair rolled her eyes at his embellishments. She had heard the story the last time Lance had visited Blackthorn and knew he was adding to it to make it more impressive. She wanted to get the group moving again but everyone seemed to regard Lance's authority as absolute.

During their flight from the city several times she had wanted to keep going rather then rest like they were doing now only for the adults to listen to Lance over her. She even noticed a bit of hostility from Dawson when he presented his plan of going ahead to scout the base and was very nearly vetoed by Lance as he thought it would be too dangerous. He only relented when Dawson made it clear he was only humoring him and would have left anyways.

"Umm ?" Joy's said jolting the trainer out of her thoughts.

She stood in front of her with her small bag of medical supplies. Near her feet a Poochyena nervously looked about, staying close to the nurse as she stood in front of Clair. Apparently she had taken aside Rosemary aside and had finished with whatever they had done together.

"What?" She said not bothering to make eye contact.

"Well you're the only one left I haven't checked up on yet. I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt anywhere when you left Blackthorn." She said.

"I'm fine, if I wasn't we wouldn't have made it this far." Was her curt reply.

"You may say that but there are many wounds that can cause you harm without showing on your body." She replied.

"Thank you for you concern Joy but I'm fine." Clair said, "Can I ask you a question?"

Taken aback somewhat joy nevertheless nodded, "Yes you may." She said.

"When Dawson left to scout ahead, that little funeral service for Rapidash you held with the children... Why did you do it? It didn't seem like something your trainer friend would do." She said finally looking at the nurse.

"I... I did it because Rapidash died trying to protect us, and Dawson didn't seem to care that she died." Joy said sadly "He just looked at her body and then went back to work. He didn't even talk about it. I wanted to make sure she was honored for her sacrifice. May I ask you a question in return?"

"If you want to." Clair replied.

"Why didn't you?" Joy asked, clarifying when she got a strange look from the dragon trainer, "I mean... that is, you didn't leave a flower or anything. I just wanted to know why."

"It's like I said at the campfire, almost all my Pokemon have died, my friends are dead, the dragon holy land is a waste now, and even my town and gym have been destroyed..." Clair looked away from the nurse while her face filled with anger, "Every year I took the dragon fang to be purified and ensure peace for dragons and the world, only for this to happen. If there's one thing I take away from all this it is that sentimentality... will only get you killed."

Before Joy had a chance to respond to Clair several of the children started shouting and pointing towards the sky. Both trainer and nurse looked up to see the descending form of Togekiss approach their group. As the flying Pokemon approached the ground both women could see Dawson clinging onto her back as she landed.

Setting down Dawson slid off Togekiss rubbing his chest with a hand while he did so. Both Clair and Joy headed over to him meeting up with Lance who was already talking with the Dawson. As the two approached they realized he wasn't talking so much as arguing with him. For once, instead of waiting for either one to finish their argument, Joy interrupted both when she finally got a close look at the trainer.

"Dawson what are you wearing?" She asked looking him over.

He had completely changed his attire from when he left. Gray pants and vest and black undershirt was what he was currently wearing. Joy could tell from Lance's expression that the large red 'R' that emblazoned the chest was what was irritating him. The only thing missing from the full Team Rocket uniform was the hat and boots.

"Yeah... my other clothes got a bit soaked." The trainer replied, "Also at some point Joy I could use Chansey... I think I broke a rib when I was there."

"You broke a rib?" Clair asked approaching, "So the base isn't safe then?"

"That's what I was just going to ask." Lance said looking at the trainer, "But I was interrupted by him accusing me of wasting time."

"You broke a rib Dawson?" Joy said.

"Yeah but I'm OK for now, and you were wasting time Lance." Dawson replied to Joy before turning towards the dragon trainer, "By all rights you guys should be moving now, not lounging about."

"Let me get Chansey then." Joy said heading back to the wagon, her Poochyena keeping pace at her heels.

"So does this mean the place isn't safe then?" Clair asked again.

"No it's saf-" Dawson said trying to respond before being interrupted.

"We're not lounging, it's a break you take one when your tired and I didn't want to exhaust the children." Lance said.

"You guys have gone half the distance I expected you to make by now, how many breaks have you guys taken?" Dawson asked irritably.

"This would be the sixth one so far." Clair said before Lance could respond.

"Clair!" The dragon trainer shouted.

"SIX!" Dawson said aghast, "Do you even want to get to this place before nightfall?"

"Hey I was making sure the children didn't push themselves." Lance replied defensively.

"The kids don't need that many breaks, they've been hiking for the last few days now. I know they don't need that many breaks."

"You mean you know how much you can run them into the ground before they break that is..." Lance said glaring at Dawson.

Joy had returned to see both Lance and Dawson staring each other down. Both trainers were clearly irritated at each other but she had no clue as to why they might be. She nervously walked up to Clair a whispered to her.

"Umm... Clair... what's going on." She asked as quietly as she could.

"It seems these two are in the initial stage of a headbutting competition, the winner apparently get's to be the most obstinate." She said.

"Should we stop them?" She asked while both Lance and Dawson continued to argue back and forth.

"Dragonair" Clair said releasing her dragon Pokemon, "A soft Aqua Tail please."

With her command Clair's Dragonair swiped it's tail in an arc towards the two arguing trainers. From the length of the swing a wave of water flowed outwards and towards the two men. Both of them had stopped arguing just in time to see the wall of water as it impacted them both soaking them entirely.

Lance was shocked into silence by the wave of water. His entire body now soaked which now added several pounds to his outfit mostly located in his cape. Dawson however just grit his teeth and stood rooted to the spot with a pained look on his face.

"Thank you Clair... for rendering my change in attire meaningless..." He said.

"Umm Dawson I have Chansey." Joy said.

"Alright, maybe soft boiled will help me dry off or something." He muttered heading off to a clear spot where the nurse and her Pokemon could properly treat him.

"Clair... what was that for?" Lance asked turning on the other trainer.

"You both were getting far too heated in that argument for you own good." She said turning away, "Apparently keeping you idiots cool is going to be a full time job."

"So why did you feel the need to undercut me back there?" Lance said.

His question never got an answer as Clair turned and walked away from him with a 'humph' and a clear air of irritation.

Dawson sighed as he held his shirt up to just under his shoulders. Joy had already confirmed that one of his ribs was broken but wanted to make sure the severity of the injury. She gingerly slid her hand along the rib waiting for the telltale sign that would help her located the break.

"OW!"

"Found it." She said with a smile.

"That's good to know, please stop poking it now." Dawson replied as the nurse pulled away her hands.

"Big baby." Joy chided.

"Wah wah I need my pacifier." Dawson deadpanned, "Seriously can we just get Chansey to fix it up already?"

"Yes from what I can tell it's not broken. It's just fractured and we could have even let that one heal on it's own if you got some rest while it did." Joy said releasing the pink Pokemon from it's ball, "Chansey, soft boiled."

The pink Pokemon nodded as it's pouch glowed. Instead of fully encasing the trainer in a glowing egg Chansey gathered the glow from her egg and let it float over to his chest. The ball merged with his chest at the point of the wounded rib and caused Dawson to glow softly with a yellow light. Once the glow faded the trainer took several deep breaths and smiled.

"Ahh that feels better. Thank you Chansey, Joy." He said standing up, "Feels like I got a pick me up in addition to the heal."

Before he could go anywhere the three of them were interrupted by the last of the Blackthorn survivors approaching them nervously. Wearing a flannel shirt and dirty jeans he looked like the other survivors, run ragged and worn to the bone. The only thing that made him look better off then the others was the complete lack of hair on his head. He fidgeted with his sleeves while he walked closer. Dawson was about to say something when Joy stepped forwards.

"Eric is something wrong?" She asked.

"No..." He said quietly, "Well... yes, it's that..." He paused for a moment before continuing, "It's that I don't think I can keep this up. It's getting to be too much I need something... anything... to keep me occupied but there's nothing Joy."

"What's this about?" Dawson asked, he had met the man before but had failed to get an impression.

"He's stressed out." Joy replied.

"It's one of the reasons I moved to Blackthorn." He added.

"Quiet, remote, not a lot of people..." Dawson finished.

"Yeah that." He said shifting his focus from his sleeves to rubbing the back of his neck, "Quiet and I could focus on my hobby."

"Tinker mostly. I had a shop in town but it wasn't a real business or anything. Just something that happened when people found out what I did." He said.

"Can you manage a few more days?" Dawson asked, "If you tinker the Rocket base looked like it had some issues that could use sorting out. It might help keep your mind off things to have a project to work on."

"I can try." Eric said sadly, turning to head back to the cart.

* * *

><p>Clefairy watched from a distant hill as the trainer returned on the back of his Togekiss. The resulting argument was the most interesting thing she spied upon the entire day. She had been seriously beginning to wonder if this group even had any exploitable weaknesses as most of the day so far had been spent just watching them travel and take breaks.<p>

The entire assignment reeked of busy work as she recalled Kadabra telling her to spy on the group for any weaknesses. He was spending his time going back to the village the group had came from, looking for even more Pokemon that the trainer might have slighted. The ever friendly Arbok was left in charge of keeping their few allies in line while both of them attended to their tasks.

Turning and hopping away she stored the sight of the two trainers dissension in her mind, that was a flaw they could exploit the easiest.


	19. Chapter 19

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Jeeze have I really been working on this for over a year?

August 23rd

The rain outside had started falling a few hours ago. What was currently coming down could be politely referred to as buckets of water. It was the the kind of rain that soaked you to the bone no matter what you did. Umbrellas wouldn't stop the rain from hitting the face when the wind picked up. Raincoats would only slow the water down as it seeped though the layers soaking whoever is inside. Dawson's party didn't even have the luxury of ponchos.

Even if they could have stayed dry they couldn't have done so while they protected the Ponyta from getting drenched. The adults jogged next to the two fire Pokemon as they rushed as quickly as they could towards the Rocket base. Holding a large tarp over the Ponyta the survivors from Blackthorn were pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion. Dawson was leading the way both guiding the fire Pokemon while holding up the front of the tarp.

The children were all running behind as orderly as one would expect after getting caught out in a downpour. Dawson's pushing them the last few days, along with the fact that they grew up on a farm, allowed them to endure the weather more aptly then their adult counterparts. Still the trainer didn't want them out here at all in this torrent and endeavored to get them to the base immediately.

Much to his relief immediately came sooner rather than later as the wagon and group saw the rocket base down the road. With the end in sight everyone pushed themselves to go the extra distance. Dawson ran ahead to the side building, after getting Joy to hold up the front of the tarp, and slid open the shutters allowing everyone and the cart to rush inside.

Once inside everyone collapsed where they were. Soaked to the bone, exhausted, and tired beyond belief no one felt like standing. Even Dawson hit the floor once the two Ponyta were recalled to their Pokeballs. The trainer figured whatever was inside the ball that contained the Pokemon was worlds better than outside in the cold rain.

"Oh yeah those breaks really helped us out Lance..." Dawson commented irritably after a few minutes.

His comment only earned him a death glare from the Dragon trainer. Ignoring the look Dawson stood up and moved to get everyone else going. The kids bounced back faster then the adults did as they had already started to look about the dock house. He knew everyone was tired and wanted to get the group to the dorm section he spied when he was here earlier.

It didn't take them long to get to the darkness of the dorms. What was badly lit inside the facility when Dawson first arrived was now near total darkness from the lack of light outside. Thankfully both Luxray and Dragonair provided light for the group as they approached the sleeping quarters.

"I'm surprised that the beds are still here... I thought this place would have been a bunch of empty rooms." Lance said collapsing in one of the many steel frame bunk beds.

"Our tax dollars at work." Dawson said with sarcasm sitting down on another, "I'm betting after they took all that important evolution equipment, or whatever was here, then the cleanup project got delegated to oblivion and tied up in bureaucratic nonsense. I've seen it happen occasionally in Oreburgh whe-" Dawson stopped when he saw Lance had apparently fallen asleep.

He looked up and about and the only one left moving was Joy, who proceeded to follow Lance's decision and lay down in one of the beds. He felt exhausted and knew the others were likely worse off then him, but he could only sigh at the fact that many of them didn't even bother changing out of their clothes. Standing up, his body already protesting the movement after only a few moments of rest, he walked over to one of the supply closets in the room. Luxray and Dragonair watched as he pulled out blankets and started laying them down over the sleeping group.

"God I'm tired." He said quietly as he walked out into the hall, "Dragonair, can you stay here and watch them for now?"

He phrased it in the form of a request rather then an order since he didn't know how amicable Clair's Pokemon were. Seeing the nod from the blue dragon he headed out into the hall way. Walking down a bit into the darkness he got away from the dorm intent not to allow the others to wake up.

Luxray tilted her head to the side intent to follow but her trainers hand told her to stay. She nevertheless watched, her x-ray vision allowing her to track Dawson's movements, him release Gardevoir from her Pokeball. The flash would have clearly woken up several of the others which explained to her why he left like he did. What wasn't explained was what Gardevoir did to him in the hallway and how he came back into the dorm a minute later, with Gardevoir as well, looking far more refreshed and energized then he should.

As he sat down Luxray pushed her head into his hand and looked up at her trainer with concern, "Hey Lux. I just needed a little pick me up." He said as Dawson got ready to keep watch overnight.

* * *

><p>Joy felt herself awaken to the feeling of cold in her body. She had a blanket placed on her but the damp clothes had cooled, chilling her somewhat. Shifting about, and finding out that her soggy attire was also very uncomfortable, she got up and looked about the dark interior of the room. As she wrapped the blanket around her she got up and glanced about at the others as the slept in their own beds.<p>

Despite her wet clothes and her sleep addled mind she still felt more refreshed than she had ever felt in a long time. She had even managed to sleep through the night without any nightmares plaguing her. Fatigue had left no room for them to work in her mind while she slept. As she got up, and felt her body wake up, she realized Dawson was nowhere in sight.

Walking to the door, her footsteps waking Clair's Dragonite and Dawson's Gardevoir, she headed out into the hallway. Moving to the nearest exit, a task made easier since the exits were the only location with any natural light, and outside into the cool August air. She was in front of the facility and there was still no sign of Dawson. She was about to head back inside, thinking she missed him sleeping inside, when the sound of splashing reached her ears.

Walking around the building she was treated to the sight of Dawson along with Luxray waist deep in the water of the lake. Torterra was sunbathing nearby while Togekiss hovered near her trainer as he stood next to his electric Pokemon. He was only wearing the Rocket pants while his hands brushed over and through Luxray's blue mane. The electric Pokemon, up to her legs in the water, calmly stood still while Dawson tended to her fur.

Joy watched as Luxray suddenly sent out a spark of electricity from her fur, "Agh Dammit!" Dawson cried out as he was shocked, "This is the fifth knot I found Lux, shocking me each time isn't going to make them vanish on their own." He admonished as he went back to brushing her mane with his hand.

The electric Pokemon, despite her shocking dislike of knots, was clearly enjoying the cleaning her trainer was giving her. Every now and then she would roll about in the water getting herself wet once again, and then let Dawson go back to cleaning her fur. As Joy approached she could see that Luxray did need a bit of cleaning.

All about her mane, that Dawson hadn't gotten to yet, there were patches of blood and occasionally some piece of something she couldn't recognize. She knew Pokemon like Luxray cleaned themselves, often with messy after effects, but the value of tending to the Pokemon's cleanliness wasn't something all trainers adhered to.

"Good morning Dawson. Your certainly looking energetic, did you get a good rest last night?" She said sitting down at the waters edge and wrapping the blanket around her tightly.

"Morning Joy. I had to keep watch since I'm not fully convinced this place is safe, so no I didn't get any sleep. Might just be my second wind or something." Dawson replied not turning to face her, "Damn Luxray are you getting bigger? And how many of those bugs did you chomp down on?" He asked as he examined her fangs.

"Did you really need to keep watch? I'm surprised at how peaceful this place feels." She said looking out over the clear water of the lake, "It's so serene it almost feels unnatural."

Finally finished with cleaning Luxray he walked out of the lake onto the shore while his Pokemon went off to find a sunny spot to dry,"Yeah... not sure why that is though. This place is completely deserted. I'd expect water Pokemon to stay away from us due to Gyarados being about but other Pokemon giving this place a wide berth is a bit unnerving." He said sitting down next to Joy.

"It's due to what went on here before I shut it down." Said a voice behind both of them.

"And that would be Lance." Dawson said looking over his shoulder, "So what did happen here?"

"Exactly what I told you, it was a forced evolution base by team Rocket. They released some sort of radio wave or something from that knocked over tower. It was supposed to force Pokemon to evolve but they only had one success story and that was my own Gyarados." He said walking up to them, "The effect caused Pokemon to weaken and get flu like symptoms. I'm not surprised that most Pokemon left."

Walking up to the shore he sat down on the sand of the beach. Pulling out a Pokeball he looked out at the water then to the ball. Both Dawson and Joy watched as Lance sighed while having some silent debate with himself.

"Lance?" Joy asked looking at the elite four member.

"I want to let Gyarados out of his Pokeball... but I'm not sure how well he would react to this place." He replied.

"Just take him to a different part of the lake then." Dawson said, "You have Dragonite if he gets rowdy right?"

"I'm not sure if Dragonite is going to be enough." Lance said, "He's still somewhat injured from battling Suicune."

"Well then take mine if your so worried about it." Dawson said, "OY Gyarados!"

At the shout the water Pokemon broke to the surface of the lake. He looked over to the beach and began swimming over to the shore. It only took a few seconds before Dawson's dragon was as close to the shore as it could swim.

"Lance could use your help, you mind?" He asked succinctly.

A simple nod and look to Lance was all the dragon trainer needed to approach, "This shouldn't take long hopefully." He said climbing on the back of the Pokemon as it started to swim to the far shore.

* * *

><p>The children were clearly enjoying the fact that they didn't have to travel tomorrow for once. Without Dawson pushing them to get to Blackthorn, a subject the adults were remaining tight lipped about, and a warm bed to sleep in they bounced back with gusto while the adults were still recovering. Realizing that they had still yet to have a decent cleaning Joy had suggested that they make use of the lake and kill two Pidgy's with one stone.<p>

So with shirts and shorts Joy gathered the children together and let them swim in the lake. It didn't take much to get them in the water. The kids had been sorely lacking in any type of entertainment and this was a dream day for them. The only one who had any issue at all was Steven, who stayed in the water long enough for the adults to head away before walking right back out.

Both Dawson's and Lance's Gyarados were swimming nearby, forming a impromptu ring around where the children played, while Togekiss watched from above. Torterra and Luxray both kept an eye from the beach while Dragonair and Dragonite actively played with the children. Even the Mareep were nearby munching on grass like the last few days hadn't even happened. With so many powerful Pokemon around everyone figured they could keep a partial eye on them from inside the building while they discussed what to do next.

"Come on Steven stop being a downer." Marcus said walking up to him as he sat on the beach.

"You guys are idiots..." The boy replied, "They're just keeping us busy while they have their secret meeting."

"Oh not this again." Marcus said with an exasperated tone, "If you want to be all crazy suspicious then go ahead, I'm going to be in the water having fun."

"You do that." Steven said.

After a few more minutes of irritated sitting and intent ignoring of the others as they tried to make him want to come play he got up and looked towards the building. Seeing which window where everyone was talking Steven moved towards the side opposite them. He carefully leaned up against the wall and started sneaking towards the window. As he got close he gingerly pushed against the glass with a finger and grinned when it slid inwards slightly.

"-And that's why we need to check in on Pryce first." He heard Lance said with irritation, "If Suicune is in the area than him and Mahogany town might be in danger."

"If it is then what?" Came a reply Steven knew was Dawson's, "Pryce is an ice gym leader right? If that's the case than he's likely the best candidate to actually battle Suicune. Hell if this burst of power all our Pokemon have is universal then there's a good chance he might even kill Suicune first."

"Just because you think that doesn't mean we shouldn't check on him." Lance said again.

"Course not, I just think heading to Blackthorn is the better option first." Dawson replied, "I explained this already none of you guys have anything other than the clothes on your back."

"We can go a few days wearing the same thing." Lance said.

"And we can go a few days without checking in on Pryce." Dawson said.

Before either of them could continue arguing Steven heard a loud slapping noise followed by Clair's voice, "Enough both of you. We're not leaving today so we don't have to make a decision just yet on where we'll go first." She said.

"There's far too many things to do anyways," A female voice chimed in which Steven guessed was Rosemary's, "and far too many things we don't know."

A male voice belonging to the other Blackthorn survivor nervously chipped in. "What..." He started before pausing to think about the next few words, "What do we know?"

A long stretch of silence followed that almost tempted Steven to look in before Dawson spoke again, "Well... let's go over it again without the fatigue." He said, "Something happened... how long ago was it?"

"A week now I think." Joy answered.

"Wow... feels like months... anyways a week ago something happened. Our Pokemon went Inferape shit and started getting dangerous. It seems like wild ones also got a lot more aggressive as well." Dawson said glancing over at Joy who had a thoughtful expression, "Towns started getting wiped off the map thanks to this new power and we've seen Riakou at Goldenrod."

"Suicune went to Blackthorn obviously." Lance said with a hint of sadness, "But before that the Zubat and their evolved forms also attacked."

"Right similar to the Crawdaunt, Corphish, and other water types attacking Goldenrod." Joy added.

"Then there is the difference in strenght of our Pokemon." Clair said, "Hyper beams can blow holes in mountains now. Thunder felt like an actual bolt of lightning..."

"Yeah, Luxray and the Mareep were a bit out of sorts the first day this happened. I was lucky Torterra didn't do more damage when he used his earthquake attack. If he was on a fault line the town of Agricola might have been flattened as well as covered in spores."

"But what does all this mean?" Eric asked.

"It means we should check on Pryce next." Lance said.

Steven heard a sigh from one of the adults, realizing it was Clair when she spoke up after it, "Lance your not in charge here." She said irritably, "Just because you want to do something doesn't mean we all agree it needs to be done."

"Clair you know we should check in on him, We should check in on all the gym leaders." Lance said.

"We don't know if we should check in on him Lance." Clair replied with further irritation.

"When this first happened I immediately went to Blackthorn. Because of that, you and the others survived. Pryce and the people of Mahogany deserve the same chance." Lance said only for his statement to be cut down in the next second.

"Three people from the entire town Lance. Everyone who lived in Blackthorn is here now and you say we should give mahogany town the same chance like your intervention is some gift from God." She said with venom.

Even outside Steven felt a chill down his spine from Clair's words. Inside he couldn't hear anyone say anything for several long minutes. Eventually he heard the sound of a chair being pushed away and someone leaving. Another few minutes passed before Steven heard Dawson say something.

"OK... in all seriousness Lance. What the fuck did you do to piss her off this much?" He asked.

"I... I don't know." Came a sad reply from the dragon trainer, "I tried to support her and everyone else after we were run out of the dragon holy land but..."

Steven heard a loud sigh then another chair being pushed back, "Well let me go talk to her." Dawson said.

"No I will... we need to clear the air between us." Lance replied.

"Lance I don't think that's a good idea, I doubt she can even stand being around you right now, and quite frankly you've been annoying the shit out of me too." Dawson said, "You guys work on figuring out... I don't know... something."

Steven heard the door close as he assumed Dawson left the room. He wanted to follow Dawson and Clair to hear what they were going to talk about but not knowing where they were or how to spy on them made the decision to stay and continue listening to the others easy. Lance was the person to break the silence left after the two trainers departure.

"What did I ever do to annoy them." He asked clearly confused.

"Dawson's irritation with you is simple..." Joy said

"It is?" Lance replied, "It's not for me, I have no clue why he doesn't like me."

"You're a leader..." Eric said quietly.

"He's right, Dawson doesn't like you because your both trying to take charge." Joy said.

"Really?" Lance said with a hint of disbelief, "Doesn't explain Clair though."

"You'll have to figure that one out on your own." Joy said, "Whatever it is that happened she's looks likes she's been brooding for a while."

"I wish I knew what to say to her." He said sadly, "All throughout our escape from Blackthorn she seemed to get more and more angry anytime I talked to her."

"Give her some time Lance, we've all had to deal with loss these days." Joy added in sadly.

"I guess I have it the easiest." Rosemary said, "Everyone from Blackthorn is dead and I honestly thought that the rest of the world was no better, then I find out Rachael is alive and well," She paused and glanced out the window, causing Steven to flatten himself against the wall to avoid being seen, "I'm... I'm just so... lucky she's alive." Rosemary said choking back some tears.

Steven made a gagging face as Rosemary went on to praise Arceus for keeping Rachael alive. Realizing they weren't going to talk about anything more important he slowly started to move away from the window. After getting a few dozen feet away he got up and rejoined the others, mulling over what he had heard.

* * *

><p>"He is a suspicious one." Gardevoir said as Steven returned from his spying.<p>

She currently floated around the beach watching all the children. She refused to sit down or stay in one location for long to make sure that Lisa or May didn't sit near her. Inside her heart she battle with the guilt of almost making their lives worse at her lack of control. The power she felt after the Ariados forest had gone right to her head and she worried what might happen next time.

Luxray looked up from where she was sunbathing. Her movements causing Michele to stir slightly from where she was resting on the Pokemon's fur. The girl hadn't slept well and was the first one out of the water. As she hadn't moved in a while Luxray found herself made into a pillow for the sleepy child.

"Yes, speaking of suspicious behavior..." Luxray said looking at Gardevoir, "Care to explain why you went crazy at Dragonite?"

"I wouldn't care for it." Gardevoir replied, "Nor could I if I even wanted to. I don't know why I lost control like that. It was like a haze of despair and euphoria, rage and calm, confusion and single minded purpose. It was like I had more power then I ever had but instead of I using it, it used me."

"Sounds like you just went crazy." Luxray said.

"Perhaps I did... but I do not think it was due to insanity within myself." She said with uncertainty, "I would think we'd all do well to take great care not to get lost in all this killing..."

* * *

><p>The Rocket base was fairly large which meant that the deeper into it you went the darker it became. The light from the outside only able to reach in so far. When Clair finally finished her storming she realized she was in the darkest place in the building. Then entire room was nothing but shadows, dark shapes, and blackness around her.<p>

Sitting down on what she assumed was something solid enough to support her she stared at the darkness waiting for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. She found herself acutely aware of the various sounds echoing though the building while she waited. The distant conversation between Lance and the others, the shrieks and cries of the children as they played in the water, even the sound of the Pokemon managed to reach her ears. None of it was understandable and it became even less so when she heard approaching footsteps.

She wondered who it was when the question was answered by Dawson's voice distinguishing the trainer as he checked the rooms for her. 'Are you in here Clair?' followed by silence, then footsteps and the same question but with a different room. Several minutes passed as the gym leader waited for the trainer to finally reach the room she was sitting in.

"Clair you in here?" Dawson's voice asked.

"Yes." Was the curt reply.

"Finally, You couldn't have picked a place somewhat further out where there's... you know... light?" He asked stepping into the room.

"If I was further out then Lance would have tried to 'talk to me' about my obvious dislike for him." Clair said seeing the mass of shadow that she assumed was Dawson take a seat on something in the room.

"Yeah about that... He's annoying for sure but I can't help but think your attitude towards him is a bit excessive for just that..." He said.

"I don't feel like talking about it." She replied.

"Nope, doesn't work like that today. Whatever stick he rammed up your butt is only going to eventually make a bad situation worse." He said

"And when that happens I'll be sure to tell you what it is." Clair responded.

"Yeah and then someone will likely die. Listen I'm not going to tell you what to do with this anger you 're holding onto. I just need to know what it is so I'm not walking on eggshells every time you take part in a conversation. If we want to avoid even more death I need to know what kind of dysfunction is going on here. So I'll ask again, what did Lance do to piss you off so much? From the attitude you're giving him I can only guess how heinous the thing must be." Dawson said hearing Clair shift around in the darkness.

"It isn't heinous..." She said.

"What?" He asked.

Clair shifted about again and sighed, "What he did, it wasn't heinous, or terrible, or even anything mean or ignorant. He was just Lance. The whole world has gone to hell and he somehow manages to stay the same hero-like person everyone knows him as. After trying to fight Suicune and failing Kaburagi took our uninjured Pokemon and went to go hold off the legendary. I know he died even though I never saw it. Lance took me and the others though the ice path to where we met up with you. I hate Suicune... I hate those damned bats... I hate every Pokemon that tried to attack us as we tried to get away, and Lance all the while kept telling me my hatred and rage shouldn't cloud my view of Pokemon." Clair had stood up and started pacing in the darkness, "That somehow he could go though the same things as me and yet still say those things to me with the same honesty he's always had. For several days he constantly tried to comfort me and help me though this!" Clair finally lashed out a fist hitting something nearby that echoed the impact throughout the room.

Dawson paused long enough to make sure she was done before speaking, "So Lance managed to piss you off just by being himself?" He asked.

"It's more then that but yes... and it's not like he hasn't been anything but supportive which makes my anger towards him even more irrational." She said with a hint of frustration, "And the others hero worship him too much to even listen to me. Now they think I'm traumatized by my loss and being unreasonable. While he continues to be the perfect hero that took charge of everyone and managed to save our lives."

"Huh, well quite frankly you are being irrational about this." He said.

"Here it comes..." She said bitterly.

"See? If you really weren't being irrational about this then you'd at least recognize that your first reaction to this is assuming the other person isn't agreeing with you." Dawson replied sarcastically

"What?" Clair asked taken aback slightly.

"I agree with you overall." He said, "Lance is trying to be too much of a hero. I've only had to deal with him for less then a day and he's already irritated the heck out of me. Where we are now... as humans, not just us individually, we can't afford to take the risks involved with being heroic and good. While I can't say anything now, I know Lance is going to try doing something like that in the future and it's going to get someone killed if we're not lucky. What that guy needs is a dose of reality and the sooner the better."

"So now you know why I'm so hostile to Lance" She said, "Now it's your turn."

"Excuse me?" He said.

"I told you about something personal, now I want you to respond in kind." She said.

"I hardly think 'Lance irritates me because he's Lance' is hardly personal." Dawson replied with obvious sarcasm.

"It's not, but you're the one who wanted to know. Now I want to know what you're hiding from the group." She said.

"Hiding?" Dawson asked feigning ignorance.

"You don't spend time as a gym leader without learning how to read people or tell that they're lying." She said, "All trainers have egos and pride. 'I'm the best in my village' and 'I've easily beaten other gym leaders' and various other little white lies they tell their opponents and themselves for that little boost. Little things they do when saying things like that give them away. Those things were all over you last night. So what are you hiding from everyone else I wonder.

Dawson couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. Her voice through the darkness was the only thing he could judge, her face and mannerisms that would have clued him in were annoyingly hidden by the lack of light. He was debated in his mind further lying but that thought was cut off when he realized she could tell he was lying to begin with.

"Alright... I guess it's not unreasonable to want to know." He said, "And annoying a person who can tell I'm lying does not strike me as the smartest move ever." He took in a breath and thought about how to put forth his next few sentences, "You remember when we talked about what each of us had gone though I talked about the forest full of Spinarak and Ariados?"

"Yeah, you said we didn't need to worry about them because they weren't expanding." She said remembering the conversation.

"Yeah that was the Tauros shit you caught onto. Really nothing was going to stop them from expanding outward and consuming everything around them. Their eggs had somehow changed or warped or whatever. Each one produced multiple offspring and there were hundreds of eggs in the center of that forest. If they had time to hatch and grown then the resulting population boom would cause this entire area to become a webbed nightmare."

"So why are you talking about it in past tense?" Clair asked.

"Because I burned the goddamn forest to the ground." He replied crossing his arms even though he knew she couldn't see the action, "I barely got out of there with Steven and Lisa, who shouldn't have come for me at all, and after seeing that spawning center I knew that was the only effective option. So after getting out of the forest by the skin of our teeth I burned it to the ground."

"You burned an entire forest to the ground?" She asked, her voice carrying a hint of disbelief, That seems kind of... evil."

"No, what it is is pragmatism. If it was evil I'd have enjoyed it on some level." Dawson said offhandedly, "Either way I'm going to ask you not to tell the others, the last thing this group needs for those that haven't accepted our new reality getting all pissy at the choices I've made thus far."

"Your asking me to lie for you?"" She asked, her voice taking a dangerous tone.

"I'd bet you're smart enough that you wouldn't have to... but yes." He replied, "Let's face it, if we tell Lance or the others they'll get up in arms over the deaths of all those Pokemon and grill me over the fact that I didn't try something else or some such crap like that. After that it goes downhill from there with the fracturing of the group and Lance trying to take control saying my judgment's impaired or whatnot and me taking my Pokemon and leaving."

"You know this is starting to sound a little like blackmail." Clair said.

"Oh no, the blackmail part is where I point out that in the worst case scenario, I leave and you're left with a group of people that not only don't understand you but will likely condemn you for those violent 'I hate all Pokemon' thoughts you told me about." He replied, "Really though, I don't see how this is a problem for either of us. Sure you may have to skirt around the truth but at least now you have someone with a like mindset in the group."

"I don't think our mindset is that alike." She said, "So what else are you lying about?"

"Plenty but for now you get a one for one deal." Dawson said.

Before the conversation could go any further both Clair and Dawson were subjected to a sudden blinding flash of light as the room's lights turned on. Clair immediately shielded her eyes while Dawson let out a painful cry as his vision was shocked with the sudden brightness. Both trainers wince in pain as their eyes adjusted to the new light.

"Gah what the hell?" Dawson said cracking his eyes open as he looked about the newly lit room.

"It looks like they got the power on." She said rubbing her eyes.

"Oh I'd say they did..." He said, "Come on I have a feeling they'll want to brag about this."

Clair remained where she sat while Dawson headed to the door. Once the trainer had made it to the threshold he turned and looked back at her. She looked over at him as he waited for her.

"You know Dawson... I don't think I like you much." She said.

"What? What's not to like?" He said defensively as Clair walked past him with him following shortly after.


	20. Chapter 20

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. I think I just about, or have hit 10,000 words with this chapter. Not a bad milestone.

August 24th

Mahogany Town

"Holy frozen wasteland Zubatman..." Dawson said as Togekiss circled around Mahogany town alongside Lance and his Dragonite.

They had located the town by simply following a road along one of the rivers leading away from the lake of rage. It didn't take long going by air with both Togekiss and Dragonite making good time as they went along. What they saw upon arrival shocked them both.

The town was almost entirely covered in a layer of ice. Pillars of once jagged ice jutted from the ground and buildings from stray ice beams or other attacks. Another new river was being formed as the ice slowly melted all throughout the city. The sheer volume of frozen water meant, however, that it was still weeks away from even considering thawing.

Both trainers circled around the icy town from above for several minutes sizing it up and checking for movement down below. The only thing they could see from the air was the water from the melting ice draining from the building and flowing down the roads. Eventually both Pokemon hovered in the air over the main road into the town while the tow trainers looked at each other.

"So there are a number of buildings down there, how do you want to do this?" Dawson said to him.

"We should check on Pryce first, then other survivors, and finally see if we can help any of them." Lance said earnestly.

Inwardly Dawson rolled his eyes at Lance's order of operation but chose not to comment against it, "If Pryce is anywhere it's likely going to be at the largest mass of ice formations we passed last, near the edge of the city. If anyone is left alive they're going to be in the Pokemon center." He said, "I'll head down first."

Before Lance could protest Togekiss had already started speeding down towards the ground. Dawson held onto her back as the ground grew close. Like at the Rocket base as soon as Togekiss started slowing down he slid off her back, grabbing her tail, and letting his feet hit the ground. Unlike the Rocket base he realized, just as his feet his the ground, that the ice did not have as good a grip as dirt or any grip at all.

With no traction from behind to use to slow herself down Togekiss started to lose control of her flight. Dawson was having no better a time as a bump in the ice sent him and his Pokemon careening into the ground. As they fell both trainer and Pokemon moved across the ice like a slip and slide before finally stopping as they hit a frozen pillar and lay sprawled on the wet ground. Soaked and staring up into the sky he heard Lance's Dragonite land carefully nearby.

"Is it really that hard for you to land like everyone else?" He asked snickering slightly.

"Do I criticize the sensibility of wearing a cape?" Dawson retorted.

Lance was going to reply as he jumped down from Dragonite. However as soon as his feet hit the ice they slipped out from under him. Landing on the ice like Dawson he grimaced in both pain and embarrassment before saying to the trainer.

"Not one word."

Not bothering to conceal his smirk Dawson stood up and did his best to get as much of the water as possible off his pants. He was grateful for the Rocket uniform as it was surprisingly water resistant. Even without the vest it managed to keep him warm even when surrounded on all sides by the ice covering the town.

"Right... Since your the one who wanted to check on Pryce you can cover the gym and Pokemon center since they're within spitting distance of each other. I'll meet you there when I'm finished." Dawson said as he carefully walked over to a nearby building for support.

"And what about you?" Lance asked as he used Dragonite to steady himself.

"Survivors, obviously..." The trainer replied.

Nodding Lance climbed back on Dragonite and headed off towards the edge of the city. Dawson watched them go while Togekiss hovered near his shoulder. As soon as they were out of hearing distance he finished his sentence.

"... not. Like I'm going to waste my time with fruitless searching." He muttered heading towards the Poke mart that he landed near, "Time to bust out my looting bags."

* * *

><p>Edge of Mahogany Town<p>

It didn't take long to get to the gym since Lance was riding Dragonite. The building had managed to be even worse than the town. The building was not only covered in the same thick ice coating as the rest of the town but also had multiple still frozen pillars jutting out of the structure. It was clear to Lance, as Dragonite landed, they were signs of battle as many of them had broken though the building.

Stepping carefully to avoid another fall like before he headed towards the building. The door, like the rest of the structure was frozen solid and no amount of budging from him would open it. Stepping back he looked at the door from top to bottom and began thinking of a way past this barrier. Before he could put any of the ideas into action Dragonite's foot impacted the door and smashed it inward.

Lance gave his Pokemon an annoyed look as he wanted a less conspicuous means of entry. Dragonite blushed slightly and pulled his over sized foot from the now broken door. Seeing nothing else to do but enter the trainer climbed into though the hole and looked about at the shadowy interior.

Like the rest of the city the power had gone out for whatever reason. He recalled the rocket base being designed to be self sustaining having a Pokemon powered generator. One zap from an electric attack and the power would be restored for a set amount of time based on how strong the attack was. Eric had seen the generator when he had woken up and with the help of the Mareep gotten power restored to the base.

Without any light inside there was no way Lance could tell if anyone was still alive, with a sigh he resolved himself to apologize to Pryce for the door later, "Dragonite, come in here." He said.

He winced as he heard his dragon simply walk though the door shattering the ice around it. As soon as Dragonite stepped out of the way light flooded inwards at the gym and Lance saw why there was no movement inside. His mind flashed back to the barrage of water and ice attacks that he and his Pokemon suffered at the hands of Suicune. The interior of the gym was dotted with the after affects of similar attacks.

In the center, surrounded by a pool of melted water, was the largest block of ice. Inside was the frozen form of Pryce. Sitting down and hunched over, his hand covered what Lance guessed was an injury from the battle. A red patch around the hand indicated to him it was once bleeding. It was now frozen like the gym leader.

A few moments of silence followed as Lance looked in at the frozen form of Pryce with sadness. Only at the end of his moment did he notice something near the ice block move. A large furry creature had shifted closer to the ice block. Upon inspection Lance realized it was Pryce's Piloswine. He could only guess but from what he could see it was attempting to thaw it's trainer with it's body heat.

"Piloswine..." Lance said sadly.

The gym leader's Pokemon looked over at the dragon trainer, let out a snort of acknowledgment, then went back to trying to thaw his master. Lance could see that he was the only Pokemon left alive in the entire gym. Broken shells from Cloysters and Shellder, the bodies of Seels and Dewgongs, and even Pryce's Lapras lay about the gym. Any with wounds not instantly fatal died days ago from lack of treatment.

Walking up to Piloswine he reached forwards to touch the Pokemon only to have a dangerous snort and bristling to his actions, "Piloswine... Pryce is dead, you can't change that." He said as gently as he could, "Even if you did thaw him out and he was somehow alive that wound he has is fatal, you can't save him."

In response to his words Piloswine let out an angry roar. A sudden chill wind picked up in the gym as Lance felt pain shoot though his body from the sudden dip in temperature. He backed away as quickly as he could on the slippery ice floor as the wind picked up and Piloswine gave another angry roar. Before the second icy wind attack could hit him he felt his body shielded by Dragonite as he stepped forwards to battle the gym leaders Pokemon.

"Dragonite, no!" Lance shouted over the roars and now howling wind, "Get us out of here!"

Nodding at his trainer, Dragonite wrapped his arms around him and rushed towards the door. Smashing his way though the hole he carried his trainer outside and into the sunlight. Climbing down from Dragonite's arms and feeling the chill in his bones fade away in the warmth of the sun, Lance looked behind him at the door. He didn't expect to be attacked by Piloswine but he realized he wasn't too tactful about the fate of the Pokemon's master.

Hearing the wind inside die down he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted into the gym, "You might not be able to save your master Piloswine, but there are others you could help if you came with us. I'll be here for a while so... think about it." He said before turning and heading down the frozen road with Dragonite.

* * *

><p>Mahogany Town<p>

Dawson let out a frustrated sigh as he watched Togekiss use aura sphere to blow open the door to another building. He had been making his way towards the Pokemon center, and nearby Poke Mart, stopping at every building that looked like it had either useful supplies or food. His sigh was from the fact that a lack of power and the miniature ice age that hit the town most food was ruined and most supplies were destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

"Exploded food from sudden freezing, Useful items needing to be de-thawed first, and each and every door needing a small explosion just top open them. I think I hate Suicune even more simply because his modus operandi seems to be 'freeze all the things.'" He said raising a fist into the air with a faked open mouth cheer.

Signaling another door to Togekiss the flying Pokemon charged up another blue sphere and let fly. The ball of energy flew though the air for only a second before it hit the entrance to the grocers and blew a hole in the door and wall surrounding it. Dawson waved a hand in front of his face as the outside air rushed into the once sealed building.

The entire city had been hit with a blizzard of monumental proportions, compressed and condensed into an area that was at most twenty miles across at the best of times. This super powerful blizzard was able to flash freeze most of the city before many of the citizens could even escape. Dawson sighed as looked in seeing the frozen corpses of the owners laying on the ground. Most people never even got to escape their homes, eventually becoming trapped in a now frozen building with no power, sealed in completely.

"No survivors and once again no decent non exploded food." Dawson said irritably, "Yeah let's go check on Pryce I'm sure there will be supplies at Mahogony town."

He stepped back outside after checking the store's food and began making his way towards the Pokemon center once again. He hoped the center's food would be less subject to damage due to the large scale freezer they often had in the back. Meant to keep the Pokemon food cold for the ones that had more particular diets.

As he made his way towards the edge of town Dawson took a moment to look back down the main street he had just came from. The ice stretched from one end of the city to the other, covering the buildings, cars, and roads. It's slightly wet surface reflected the sunlight causing the trainer to wince slightly. Even with the light in his eyes he could see nothing moved in the city.

Not a single living thing beyond him and his Togekiss was anywhere in sight. By now the main road he was on would have cars moving back and forth in a frantic rush to get to their destination, but even those were frozen in place. The stillness of the city reminded him of a painting or picture. He knew it wouldn't last but for now it felt like time had stopped around him.

"You know Togekiss, this is kinda nice..." He said to his Pokemon who's response was a shocked chirp, "Oh don't give me that look. I know the deaths of everyone here is terrible, but I can't help but enjoy walking through an entire city without a soul in sight. Everywhere you go people were always around, from the mountains, to the seas, to even the desert you could always find people. Living their lives and going about their routines. Now though... you have quiet, solitude, and even, dare I say it, a sense of individualism."

Togekiss landed on a lump of ice. Its size indicated to Dawson that it was likely a car before Suicune came and froze everything. He wondered for a moment if anyone was frozen inside while his Pokemon gave him a look that was a cross between worry and confusion.

"I guess it feels like..." He started pausing to figure out the words, "Argh I don't know, and now this lack of appropriate wording is going to bother me for the rest of the day... I hope you're happy Togekiss." The Pokemon's face fully shifting over to confusion at the end of his statement.

He looked down the rest of the street and estimated how many buildings might have food in them. Then he wondered just how many would actually have food that hadn't been damaged by the sudden onset of Suicune's freezing blizzard. The end result from his assessment was that group would still be hungry after he and Lance got back from their little incursion. Remembering Lance and Clair's description of this place he was stuck with an idea that might help them deal with the lack of supplies over the long term.

"Hey Togekiss we're going to make a stop along the way to the center." He said walking over to his Pokemon.

Climbing on, once Togekiss got down from her car perch, he and his Pokemon flew off down one of the side streets towards the edge of the city.

* * *

><p>Team Rocket Base<p>

Clair moved though the Rocket facility listlessly. She resented being left behind even after Dawson stated he found Lance as irritating as she did. She wasn't so unreasonable as to be ignorant of why she was still at the base instead of out there with them. A skilled gym leader and long time Pokemon trainer meant she had the experience battling to protect everyone in case something came along. Approaching a door she leaned against the side of the wall nearby and began to listen to the people inside.

Joy was inside along with the rest of the children. They currently were sitting around one of the Flaffy as Joy stood with the Pokemon in the center. She was explaining to the the more nuanced aspects of the Pokemon while it munched a pile of grass that had been brought in. The children were listening as intently as possible, considering most of them had made the connection to what Joy was doing was teaching and they were back in school.

"So about how much does a Flaffy weigh?" Joy asked the children.

There was a pause as the few children actually paying attention tried to remember, "Umm... about thirty pounds?" Michele said tentatively.

"That's right, and that it for today's lesson." Joy said cheerfully.

Most of the children save for May, Lisa, and Michele got up and all but bolted out the door. They ran past Clair to head outside for swimming or playing with the Pokemon that remained behind. The gym leader watched as the three girls walked past and gave her a small timid wave. Watching them walk out of sight Clair turned into the room and looked at Joy as she sat down on a chair with a glazed look in her eyes.

"How am I qualified to teach a class about Pokemon." She said, "I had to move mountains to pass my classes in the academy and I never even got to finish my first assignment."

"Well it looked like the class went as well as could be expected. It's a good idea at least giving the kids some structure, I have a feeling if we left them to their own devices then they'd just play all day. It was a good thing you were able to find Dawson's Pokedex." Clair said.

"Yeah... so how did your inspection of this place go?" The nurse asked.

"As well as could be expected. Most of the relatively important things have been taken out and any food left over has long since expired. Also don't use the bathrooms, not having any maintenance for however long this place has been up for has created a smell that's best left to the imagination." Clair replied.

"Clair?" Joy said with a hesitant voice indicating a question was coming.

"Yes?" She said.

"When I was checking Dawson's Pokedex I found out that he's had his Pokemon from the very beginning..." She said.

"Yes and?" Clair replied.

"Well it's just that... when I was at the nurse's academy our professor once said it wasn't healthy to keep Pokemon for extended periods of time." Joy said, "Dawson's had his for almost five years now..."

"While it's true the Pokemon league encourages trainers to take in new Pokemon from each region it's not always followed, what's your point?" Clair said.

"It's just that my professor talked about bonds formed between long time trainers and their Pokemon and that it often had unhealthy side effects, over attachment, simplifying of the trainer Pokemon bond, and even refusal to let the Pokemon go when it wants to leave. I just was worrying about Dawson's reaction to Rapidash's death... it didn't seem like a healthy response."

"If you don't think he's being healthy about his attachment then maybe he should be the one you talk to about it. There's too much going on for me to worry about, and I hate to dismiss you like this, trivial concerns about how someone deals with loss." Clair said turning to the door, "If you're as worried about it then tell him, not everyone else around him."

With that she headed out the door and towards another part of the Rocket base. Inwardly she realized she likely was too brisk in bushing off Joy's concerns but couldn't help but be irritated at the fact that she went to her instead of him to talk. Independent and self confidant Clair always preferred to do things herself and be direct about them. Joy's roundabout method of dealing with problems rubbed her the wrong way.

She put her thoughts about the issue out of her mind as she approached the room where she had her conversation with the currently absent trainer. After Eric had gotten the power running his personality had taken on a much more obsessive tone as he moved about the facility with purpose making sure the new found electricity wasn't causing sparks or damage anywhere. After which he actively sought out the area's Lance had wrecked the last time he was at the base and began working on repairing them.

His tools were limited but he was able to put his mind to the task and relax slightly. Clair could certainly see that he was feeling better now as she approached him. Laying on his back all she could see of him was his legs, his torso inside the computer panel attached to a room sized monitor. Much of the controls were destroyed from what Clair assumed was a hyper beam attack from Lance's Dragonite.

As she approached she heard Eric muttering to himself while he worked, "No tools, no supplies, and working on a system that could only be described as crap and I can still make progress fixing this mess of a junk heap."

"I see you've found something to take your mind off the chaos." Clair said approaching the Blackthorn survivor.

"Huh, That you Clair?" He asked without sliding out from under the panel, "I'm sorry I can't slid out right now Team Rocket equipment has more wires then I ever imagined and I'm caught up right now."

"Yes it's me, I'm just checking in on everyone to see how their doing." She said.

"Well for now I'm fine, although if anyone goes back to Blackthorn I could really use my tools, I left without them and they'd help with my fixing of this equipment." He said

"Do you think it's worth fixing?" She asked sitting down on a table.

"Oh definitely, if we can get the computer on and possibly get the tower back up we might even be able to contacts others or find out if any networks are left online." He replied, "It's also not a urgent matter so it's not like it'll get in the way of any of you guys and your trips out into the world."

"Well at least you seem to be dealing with things a little better." She said.

There was a pause in the noise coming from under the panel before Eric spoke again, "Fixing things has always calmed me down. A place this big with this much stuff to repair is like getting a cake after eating stale bread for days." He said.

Clair couldn't help but chuckle at the analogy, "So I guess with all the damage this place I guess you get to have your cake and eat it too." She said earning a bout of chuckling from the man.

"That was really terrible Clair." He said a moment later.

"Yes it appears jokes are not my strong point." She said, "But you did laugh."

"Only because we haven't had anything to laugh about for a while." He replied.

* * *

><p>Mahogany Town<p>

Lance had been waiting near the Pokemon center for almost ten minutes now. He chose a spot within sight of the building but still far enough away if something came out of it he would have the necessary time to mount Dragonite and take off. What was currently bothering him was that Dawson was nowhere in sight. He scratched his head as he remember that they did plan to meet here.

He was relived when he saw the center had managed to avoid turning into a giant block of ice. Located at the edge of the city it was able to ride out the majority of the storm without getting completely frozen solid. The front entrance however was blown inward and Lance worried about the utter lack of movement inside or around the building.

"Where is he?" He wondered aloud as he waited.

A few more minutes passed before he finally saw a quickly moving form approach from the city. Even at a distance it was clear from the white body it was Togekiss. It only took a few more seconds before he could make out the form of Dawson riding on her back. As the Pokemon and trainer approached he could see a duffle bag carried by Dawson presumably filled with whatever he found in the city.

"What kept you?" Lance asked irritably when Dawson and Togekiss finally landed.

"Sorry, I made a pit stop along the way to pick up a few extra things." He replied.

"So did you find any survivors?" Lance asked only to have Dawson reply with a look that said 'Does it look like it?', "No I guess you didn't" He finished sadly.

"Don't get down on yourself," Dawson said hopping down from Togekiss, "It's not going to help us search the center."

"Yeah but... I hoped at least someone could have survived." He said.

Dawson looked back over frozen city then back to Lance fixing the dragon trainer with an incredulous look, "You know we're going to have to do something about the rampant optimism you have going there... otherwise the future is going to be very unkind to you." He said

"I don't need you criticizing the hope I had for finding people alive." Lance snapped back, "Let's just look though the center and try to find some survivors."

He turned away and headed for the center, Dragonite following behind him dutifully. Dawson simply rolled his eyes and recalled Togekiss, letting her rest for now, and pulled out another Pokeball. Releasing Luxray he watched as she sniffed the air a few times before looking over towards the Pokemon center. The fur on her back bristled and Dawson could see her mane become charged with electricity.

"Uh-oh." He said looking over as Lance approached the door, "Comon Lux." Both trainer and Pokemon jogged to catch up with Lance as he approached the center, "Careful, Luxray's gotten a bit twichy... something might be inside."

"Do you think it's survivors." Lance asked hopefully.

"Lance..." Dawson started then sighed, "Yes I think it's survivors and I'm sure they'll want to come with us once we find them."

"You don't have to patronize me." The dragon trainer replied, "If you don't think the're are any inside just say so."

Dawson chose not to reply, instead he leveled his boot at the automatic door and kicked forwards, shattering the glass and opening a way inside. Carefully stepping though the jagged edges of the door The two trainers entered the Pokemon center while Dragonite stood watch outside, being too large to effectively do anything inside the building.

As they stepped in the sight that greeted them immediately destroyed any hope Lance had of finding survivors. Bodies lay across the floor of the center's lobby. Not a single one moved and most had been killed fleeing from something from outside the center. Small pools of dried blood surrounded their corpses indicating to the two that something had pierced their bodied with enough force to cause them to bleed. The smell was still somewhat manageable telling both that the people hadn't been dead for more than a few days.

Both trainer's attention was drawn to the center of the lobby at the sound of something moving in the shadows. They still had to wait for their eyes to adjust slightly but were able to make out the shadowy form of something or something inside. Lance was the first to recognize the form, remembering guessing game educational programs played about Pokemon and their outlines.

"It's a Marowack." He said somewhat shocked, "It must be a trainer's Pokemon..." He slowly approached the Pokemon with his hands outstretched in a peaceful motion.

"Lance that might not be such a good idea." Dawson said watching him get closer.

The Marowack was kneeling over one of the bodies inside the lobby. Occasionally it would twitch and smash it's bone into the ground sending bits and pieces of broken tiles into the air. It only changed it's actions once Lance got close enough to it to see it's eyes.

Lance had seen those kinds of eyes before in both humans and Pokemon, the eyes of someone or something completely taken over by a madness that could only destroy. When the Marowack turned to face him he was frozen in shock by the look leveled at him. He couldn't even fathom moving out of the way while the Marowack reared back and threw it's bone club at him.

Thankfully Dawson was also paying attention and shoved the shocked trainer out of the path of the flying club. Lance hit the floor with a thud while the bone passed by both of them, hitting the ceiling ricocheting off. It hit the wall then the floor and flew back to the Pokemon. While the club returned to Marowack Luxray leapt forwards between the two trainers and bared it's charged fangs at the ground Pokemon.

"Shit, this is a bad match up! Lance get Dragonite in here to take care of this guy." Dawson said stepping back from his electric Pokemon to give her room to work.

"What... NO!" Lance said aghast, "It's not it's fault, it's insane from the loss of it's trainer!" He watched as Marowack launched itself forwards and brought it's club down narrowly missing Luxray as she dodged, "Get me to it's trainer and I can recall it!"

"Are you stupid?" Dawson shouted watching Luxray leap back and narrowly avoid another club swing, "Get your god damn dragon in here!"

Lance looked back and forth between corpse and the Pokemon battle, "I can do this Dawson cover me!"

Lance scrambled from where he lay towards the trainer's corpse. He could hear Dawson swear as the Marowack brought it's club to bear against Luxray. The Pokemon dodged again but with all the bodies on the floor it made for difficult footing for the electric Pokemon and Marowack had the advantage.

The battle was completely one sided as Dawson realized no electric attacks could hurt the Marowack and any other moves Luxray had would require getting within range of the bone club which could cause her serious harm. Before he could form some sort of plan Marowack lunged forwards.

It swiped the bone club downward in an arc over it's head towards Luxray. She was easily able to move to the side to avoid the attack as the bone impacted the ground. Before she could take advantage of the clumsy attack the Marowack then shifted it's footing and launched it's body directly towards Luxray. It's skull head smashed into her torso sending the Pokemon flying backward into a wall.

Leaping forwards Marowack brought it's bone up over it's head again ready to finish off Luxray. Before it could finish it's arc towards the Pokemon Dawson's duffle bag smashed into it's torso sending it flying backwards like Luxray a moment before. Pain shot though Dawson's shoulder from the swing of the bag and he fell to his knees clutching it. Crawling up from where it landed Marowack glared at the trainer and Pokemon before it's eyes caught something else. It's vision focused on Lance as he was rooting around his trainer's pockets.

It's vision going red Marowack let out an anguished cry before leaping into the air again this time at the Dragon trainer. Lance turned to see the Marowack bearing down on him and was about to jump out of the way when a sudden burst of lightning sent the Marowack flying off to the side. The lightning blinded him while the smell of ozone filled the air.

The Marowack, for a second time, flew backwards and into a nearby wall with enough force to crack bones. Lance brought up what he thought was the Pokemon's Pokeball only for another bolt of lightning to hit the Marowack again, burning it's chest and slamming it back against the wall. A third bolt followed with a forth immediately after that. Before Lance could even protest Luxray bolted past and brought down it's it's fangs, now sparking with electricity, and bit into the neck of the Marowack. Pulling back it ripped out the throat of the ground Pokemon and backed away while it gasped and bled to death.

"What... DAWSON WHAT THE HELL, I COULD HAVE GOTTEN IT INSIDE IT'S BALL!" Lance screamed at the trainer.

Dawson didn't even respond as he walked past and began checking on Luxray's torso. Kneeling down he reached out and felt around her ribs to check if anything was broken. As he moved on the next part of her he was suddenly pulled up by the collar and slammed into the wall.

"I COULD HAVE SAVED IT" Lance shouted at the trainer.

Dawson shoved Lance back and away from him, "Do I look like I give a fuck about that? Luxray got hurt and I'll value the lives of my Pokemon over obviously insane ones any day of the week. You yourself got lucky that the Lightning attack was able to even affect that Marowack. If it didn't your brain would have been splattered all over this lobby." He said.

"We could have save it. Put it back in it's Pokeball and released it out where it couldn't do harm." Lance said, "But instead you took the easy path and chose to kill it instead."

"Didn't you and Clair survive the attack on Blackthorn by choosing to kill... Or are you going to make some sort of distinction between then and now?" Dawson retorted.

"I couldn't stop them back then! Not only were the bat Pokemon going to kill everyone around them my own Pokemon acted upon their own initiative. I didn't want anyone to die, not then and not now."

"So you chose to blame the Pokemon instead..." Dawson said bitterly, "Figures."

"No..." Lance said getting up, "I'm not blaming them, I'm blaming myself. I failed to stop them and lives were lost because of it. I should have tried harder, done something differently, ANYTHING! But I failed and now I'm going to do everything in my power to stop this blatant waste of lives."

"Well try harder next time, I'm not going to adhere to your little quest to save everyone if it means risking the lives already under my care." Dawson said before turning towards one of the doors.

"What's wrong with you?" Lance asked as he watched Dawson walk away, "That you can talk about and deal death so... easily."

"Nothing's wrong with me," The trainer replied pushing open the door, "At least now that we're part of a whole new world dynamic. There would be something wrong with me before all this happened but now... now people like me are the norm and the ones like you are the odd people."

"I don't believe this world is that far gone yet Dawson." Lance said stepping towards the trainer.

"Then you might not want to check out the inside of this room." The trainer replied.

"Why what's..." Lance's words died on his lips as he looked inside.

The room was the recovery ward of the Pokemon center. The place where they would put Pokemon to rest and relax after getting treated by nurse Joy. The rows of Pokemon beds and recovery chambers were supposed to help get back on their feet and back to full health. The sight before the two was nothing but death. Trainers had brought their Pokemon friends to get treated for the ice burns they had suffered during the blizzard. Their bodies next to their Pokemon showed the two that they refused to flee when whatever killed the people outside had entered the room.

The wounds, reminiscent of gunshots, were on the bodies of both trainer and Pokemon. Everyone inside had been dead for days. Neither Dawson or Lance could tell exactly who killed them but it was clear from the scene before them that whatever it was had no mercy for even the wounded. Lance could only stand their aghast at the sight. It was an affront to every ounce of effort he had put into saving lives.

"Well... I'm sure their insurance will cover this." Dawson said with a bemused tone.

"How can you-" Lance began.

"Not the first, not the last, not the worst sight of death I've seen." He said stepping around the bodies and making his way towards one of doors in back, "Come on we need to check for food."

* * *

><p>Johto Moutains<p>

Clefairy hopped along the forest towards a nearby hill and her fellow Pokemon waiting for her there. Her movements were considerably out of place among all the groups of Pokemon around her. Small packs had gathered and formed rings where smaller Pokemon were battling. Rattata, Sandshrew, Nidoran and many other low evolution Pokemon fought it out in the center of the rings made up of Pokemon further down the evolutionary line.

Every now and then a flash of light would be seen from one of the circles, followed by several cheers and shouts from the others, signaling an evolution had taken place. When one evolved they stepped out of the ring and another would take his or her place in the center and the battles continued. Rules had been set up preventing the fights from becoming too violent but a small pile of bodies nearby showed they weren't always effective. While she would never admit to it the battles on display disturbed her on fundamental level.

Nearby the Tangela and Tangrowth milled about in a dazed manner. Ever since their minds had been taken over they never fully regained their free will or focus. Now they just wandered about, ate when hungry, and stayed silent. The only noise that came from them was the rustling of their vines when the moved. Something inside broke when Kadabra asserted his will upon them and it seemed to Clefairy that it would never be fixed on it's own.

Approaching the top of the hill she stopped hopping and stood behind Kadabra as he gazed over the forest they had taken residence in. Arbok was nearby watching the matches with a bored look of a Pokemon who had seen the battles play out dozens of times before. Clefairy knew she had to wait before Kadabra would pay her any attention. While she was spying on the human group he had been projecting his spirit as far as he could looking for more and more allies and Pokemon to draw to his banner.

Their force had already grown when the three of them collected the Pokemon from Arbok's old battle ground, promising revenge for the injuries and death they humans had spread in their wake. While many of the Ariados and Spinarack had been killed when the human burned down their forest he was still able to gather up a few of them, overriding their mind much like the plant Pokemon.

After several minutes of waiting Kadabra finally turned and faced Clefairy, his eyes weary and tired, "You've returned, has something happened to the humans to warrant a report?" He asked looking at his pink companion.

"Yes it seems they have finally stopped moving and taken residence in a building near the lake south of here." She replied.

"What do we know about this place?" He asked.

"So far... nothing." Clefairy said sheepishly.

"Nothing?" He replied with confusion.

"I had spent some of my time questioning the nearby Pokemon but I could only find ones after traveling for some distance. The only thing I know now is that they seem to want to stay as far away from the building and lake as possible. Why I don't know." She said.

"But they are staying there?" He said.

"Yes they seem to be settling down and two of the humans even flew off leaving behind the others." She said.

With a bored tone Arbok joined the conversation, "Prehapsss we ssshould attack now then?" Arbok said.

"No, even if they left we cannot assume that their leaving of the place is anything but temporary. For now we gather and build our forces, I will be gone for a few days while I meet with Pokemon I've seen during my scouting. Clefairy, Arbock you two continue to train the others. We'll need the strenght of fully evolved Pokemon to hope to defeat the dragons in their possession." He said.

"What about food?" Clefairy asked, "This area can't sustain our growing numbers."

"If we need we have plenty of meals waiting for us in the cities and towns now vacant from our new found power. And I'm sure many of our number won't mind clearing a few ourselves. There is no meal more satisfying then revenge seasoned with the suffering of our enemies." He said with a dark smile on his face.

Inwardly Clefariy felt a deep sadness at his words.


	21. Chapter 21

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 24th

Team Rocket Base

Poochyena growled as he bit down on the scrap of cloth. Pulling with all of his might he dug his heels into the ground, struggling against the force tugging against the cloth. Shaking his head back and forth he attempted to wrest it away from the two children pulling on the opposite end.

May and Michele both held firm as the Pokemon fought to win this impromptu contest of strenght. They didn't need the scrap of cloth for any real reason but as soon as they picked it up something inside Poochyena clicked and the tug of war was on. Their initial surprise having worn of after the first few seconds, the Pokemon never interacted with anyone beyond Joy to this point, they gave as good as they got.

Joy watched with a smile as the they, along with the other children, were currently outside playing. She found a bit of solace in her new world order by watching the children as they did nothing more then act like kids. Reminding herself not everything was terrible and sad. So lost in thought she never noticed Steven releasing the Ponyta from their Pokeballs. Only after he and Marcus rode by where she sat did she realize what they were doing.

"What are you two doing!? Get back here its too dangerous out there." She cried out climbing to her feet to chase after them.

"We'll be back in a few!" Steven called back, "Just a loop around the lake then we're done."

"What? No, get back here!" Joy said as the two rode off along the shore.

"Joy?" A voice called out stopping the nurse.

"What? Oh Rosemary, I'm sorry I have to-" She watched as Steven and Marcus rode off far faster then anything she could manage, "-try to catch them... never mind... what is it?" Joy asked hoping the trip around the lake was all they did.

"I just wanted to talk about the children again. More accurately why their head hurts when I start asking questions." She said with a firm tone.

"Oh... alright I guess, I still kinda think Dawson is the one you want to talk about it with." Joy said.

"Well there are... reasons... I don't... oh darn it, I just don't trust Dawson at all." Rosemary said bluntly.

"Y-you don't?" Joy replied somewhat shocked.

"No, he gives me this kinda shady vibe. It's how he acts when he talks to us, like everything he says is always left ambiguous. That and he constantly tries to do everything or have a hand in everything everyone is doing. I had to deal with the same issues with my family, they always disapproved of my lifestyle and would often try to involve themselves in it so they could push it back to where they wanted it to be. I get that same feeling from him, like he doesn't think we're capable of doing things ourselves." Rosemary said with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Well I guess I can see that..." Joy said mentally agreeing with her more then she felt like she should, "What about the children?"

"I've been questioning them about the headaches. It seems like they all happen when the topic gets to their parents or the town of Agricola but each one is different. Some get them later on in the questioning others get it earlier. I don't know what it means but it definitely has a pattern." She said.

"So what do you want me to do? I'm a Pokemon nurse, not a psychologist." Joy replied.

"I don't know, I just wanted to tell someone. I mean you and Dawson were the only other people who survived Agricola but even you two don't know whats happened to these kids. If you remember anything at all please tell me." Rosemary said with an earnest tone.

"A-alright..." Joy said.

Before either could say anything else regarding the matter the sounds of hoofs could be heard from near the lake. Looking past Rosemary Joy was relived to see both Steven and Marcus returning on the back of the two Ponyta. Both boys looked pleased with themselves at the ride. Steven more so due to him not only being able to ignore the adults for once but also getting the ride in which helped lift his spirits.

"How dare you two go off on your own like that!" Joy shouted running over to them, "Y-you could have been attacked or hurt or any number of things!"

"Sorry miss Joy," Marcus said bowing in apology, "But the Ponyta needed exercise and Steven said it was safe enough."

"Steven doesn't make the decisions about how dangerous it is!." Joy said as she continued her protest.

"Yeah Marcus it's not like we were on four legged steeds made out of fire or anything." Steve said rolling his eyes and walking past the nurse.

"Steve be nice to Joy!" Rosemary said, "She's an adult and you should listen to her."

"Why?" The boy replied.

"Why? Because she's older and has more experience, your still a child." She said.

"Like that matters." Steven said, "The whole world is different now, you say she has experience? That's stupid, it's like saying you have more experience skydiving just because your older than me."

The boy headed towards the building, ignoring the flustered reply from Rosemary. He enjoyed the presence of the new set of adults from Blackthorn. Dawson didn't argue and Joy just rolled over when he confronted them but Rosemary, Eric, and Lance often argued back. Only in arguments did the adults ever slip up and he used that to it's fullest.

Once Steven was out of sight Rosemary finally managed to fluster out a response, "Ohhh that boy! Even before all this he was always a handful." She said

"You knew him before all this?" Joy asked.

"Yes a small town like Agricola meant the children all played together mainly because there was no one else. So I knew about the kids through Rachael. Steven has always been a problem child since his brother went on his Pokemon journey." Rosemary replied.

"What happened?" Joy asked.

"His brother went out on his journey and never wrote back. He wasn't that close to the family to begin with and when he stopped writing Steve took it the hardest. He thought something happened and his parents were lying to him about it." Rosemary said, "It wasn't true but he's never stopped suspecting. Anyways still a just child I don't think we have to worry about him."

Joy looked at the two Ponyta before she turned back to the Rocket base, "I don't think you should be underestimating him." She said.

* * *

><p>The sun had begun to set in the distance as Lance and Dawson finally managed to get back to the Rocket base with their cargo. Dragonite was carrying a large wooden pallet by ropes looped though the bottom. His arms also had two backpacks strapped as tightly as they could be. Lance had his own pack to deal with alongside making sure the two bags on the back of the dragon didn't fall off. Dawson had it somewhat easier as he only had two duffle bags, a backpack, and Togekiss carrying a footlocker roped to her lower body.<p>

Landing with the extra baggage was handled differently from what both trainers normally did. Dragonite was first as he placed the pallet on the ground before setting down with Lance so they could unload the dragon. Once free of the extra weight Togekiss flew by and let the footlocker drop into the waiting arms of Dragonite. Their supplies dropped off Dawson and Togekiss were able to land and look about the area.

"Huh would have expected the children to be up and about." He said.

"Dawson, Lance you're back." Clair said walking out of the base and towards them.

Lance, without any response to the greeting, grabbed two of the packs and headed into the building. Clair watched him walk by with a hint of confusion before looking to Dawson for an explantion. The trainer let out a sigh and shrugged before handing one of the bags over to Clair.

"I'm guessing he didn't like what he saw in Mahogany town." He said, "Here carry this in will you? Togekiss you can take a break now, Dragonite can you carry the footlocker in for me?" The dragon nodded before lifting the large metal container.

"How was the town? Since you two came back alone I'm assume it didn't make it through these last few days unharmed?" She asked taking the back from the trainer and walking in with him.

"Unharmed would have been preferable. The entire town was one giant block of ice. I'm guessing Suicune or a group of powerful Pokemon used blizzard or some such attack and froze the town solid. Despite what it looks like we didn't actually get all that much." He said walking up to the shutters for the dock doors and sliding them open, "Most of this is just basic stuff that will make roughing it a bit easier. What food we were able to get is on that pallet back there."

"So what did Lance see there?" Clair asked.

"Death..." Dawson said putting down the duffle bags he was carrying.

"Anything else besides that?" Clair said moving to help Dragonite take of the backpacks around it's arms, "Or do you need more time to be more cryptic."

"Wow, yeah that was kinda much. The Pokemon center wasn't really that pretty to put it lightly. An insane Marowak, lots of dead people and Pokemon, and from the what we saw it was a wholesale massacre." Dawson said, "People injured by the blizzard taking shelter in the center only to get killed by whatever it was that froze the town. Dragonite can you handle the pallet out there?" The dragon nodded and headed off to the task.

"And Lance being who he is, didn't take that well." She replied sadly.

"Course it didn't help that I really didn't give a shit about finding survivors." He said while moving to the door, "I'm all for trying to find survivors when it makes sense to but when the whole town is two levels below glacier I change my priorities. Also finding out that some of the supplies I got were from a library sure didn't make his day."

"A library? You brought back books?" She asked with a surprised tone.

"Yeah, some reading materials for the kids, some know-how books, and a few about survival for myself. As much as I claim to know my skills are far from enough for living in the rough like this." He said sliding the shutters closes as the dragon placed the pallet down inside, "Thanks Dragonite, can you do any ice attacks?"

The dragon nodded cheerfully and opened his mouth pointing to it. Nodding in response Dawson laid out where he wanted the ice beam to go and stepped away from the pallet. With precision and control the ice beam hit the top of the large stack of packages, freezing the top half in ice. His job done Dragonite gave one last look to Dawson and Clair before letting out a cheerful cry before heading towards the main building.

"You know just a few days ago I would have questioned you getting books of all things... now it feels like your fatalistic streak is what we should be following instead of trying to school children like they'll be able to go back to that life." Clair said following the dragon and Dawson to the door.

"Finally someone gets it. No longer will I have to endure this solitary lifestyle of being the only one who acts with the pretext that we're likely all going to die out here!" Dawson exclaimed with relief and a bit of sarcasm, "Wait schooling?"

"Yes it's something Joy set up to help the children get a bit more structure in their free time." She said walking with him down the corridor to one of the doors emitting light.

"Huh, good for her." He said earning himself a glance from Clair, "I said it was good for her, not that the idea had merit. I'm sorry to say but those kids are higher up on the totem pole of importance then most of the adults in my opinion."

Her glance shifted as her eyes narrowed, "Higher then me?" She asked .

"Oh yeah." He said not missing a beat, "I mean those kids grew up on a farm, their daily life involving taking care of the Pokemon and planting things. In a few months they're going to really get a chance to outshine the lot of you. Heck you're rated under Joy at the moment due to her having medical skills to fall back on."

"I see." Clair replied coldly before walking ahead and leaving the trainer behind.

Dawson was left standing in the hall while he tried to figure out what just annoyed the dragon trainer, realization dawned on him he let out a sigh and rubbed his temple, "Smooth moron..."

* * *

><p>It was shortly after dinner when Lance finally got a moment to himself to reflect on the days events. Sitting on one of the beds in the base's dorms he felt his body shift sluggishly and immediately start to ache. He recalled the work he and Dawson had to do to get what supplies they could from the Pokemon center and nearby Pokemart. Lance considered himself as strong as the next man but being constantly pushed by Dawson to work faster had made him strain himself more then necessary.<p>

Just as he was about to lay down on the bed he heard a knock at the door, "Hello Joy." He said with a tired voice, "What can I do for you?"

"I... Well you left supper rather quickly." She said with a hint of nervousness, "And you seemed like something was bothering you. I hope the food me and Rachael made wasn't bad..."

"No, it wasn't the food Joy." Lance said quickly attempting to avoid insulting the nurse, "It was me, I just have a lot on my mind."

Joy let out a small sigh of relief before taking a few steps into the room, "Do... do you want to talk about it?" She asked, "I know there aren't many people here that are good at listening" She walked over to the bed and looked at the dragon trainer.

He let out a small smile and moved over, offering the nurse a place to sit. "Yeah, I think I could use someone to talk to." He said as Joy sat down, a short moment of silence passed between the two as Lance thought about how to begin, "I guess... ever since this all happened... I've felt so lost."

"Lost?" She asked.

"Like before I knew what and who I was, where I was going with my life, who I could trust and rely on, and I knew what was right and wrong. Now... now everything's different. The world feels so strange and different now like everything I once knew no longer exists and I'm stuck trying to fit a square peg into a round hole." He said putting his head in his hands, "After the first day and the bat Pokemon attacked there was so much death and violence. My Pokemon, Clair's, even the Dragonite from the dragon holy land all had such power... and it almost looked like they enjoyed it. Like some part of them had always wanted to have that much strenght."

"Maybe they're right in taking pride in their new found power?" Joy said somewhat absentmindedly.

Land looked at her with confusion, "You mean they deserved to be able to do... all of this." He asked.

"What no, I mean... it's that..." She stammered quickly trying to clarify her statement, "An electric type shocking a human and not doing serious harm, compared to a bolt of lightning. Maybe a lot of them felt... I don't know... weaker because of it."

"Well Dawson's Luxray was able to hurt a ground type." Lance said.

"What happened? I asked Dawson before dinner but he didn't say much." She asked.

"It was just like I said, Luxray was able to kill a Marowak with a few bolts of lightning. A ground type losing to an electric type." He replied.

"But that isn't what's bothering you... is it." Joy said

"No." Lance said with a sigh, "What's bothering me is that I'm not sure he was wrong to want to kill it. I keep doubting myself and my actions. Its not even the fact that I want to solve things without either side suffering but that I can't see situations that have solutions like that. Even if I had managed to stop Dawson and save Marowak, what then? Would I have been able to release it out into the wild, somehow rehabilitated it from the trauma it suffered, or even just leave it in it's Pokeball? I feel... so helpless and lost." Lance brought his hands up to his face and let out another sigh.

Before he could say anything else he felt Joy's arm around his shoulder and her body press up to him in a hug, "Lance... I can't answer your doubts or fears, but I want you to know something. The fact that you care about Pokemon and how you try to solve the problems we face without violence. I find it inspiring, and I'm sure the others do too." She said.

"Even Dawson?" He asked.

It was Joy's turn to sigh as she looked to the floor, "Dawson, he's solving the problems we face with violence and I don't think that's wrong," She said thinking back, "But I also don't feel he's right to do so. It's his first choice and he does so with such vigor I sometimes worry what might happen to him as a person. That's why you inspire me Lance, because you're still trying to be human. When Dawson... If Dawson loses his way, I'm sure you'll be able to help him back."

"Do you really think he'll lose his way?" Lance asked surprised by her words.

"Yes..."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile inside the dock room of the Rocket base Dawson was unscrewing the top of the sign he had picked up in the Ariados forest. Bracing the metal post against the ground with his foot he made one last pull and yanked the triangular route sign off the pole. Holding the large piece of metal up to his eye he checked it's thickness and levelness.<p>

Walking past his Gardevoir and Torterra he brought it over to one of the tables and pulled out a marker from his pocket. The two Pokemon watched as he sketched out a few lines on the sign. Finished with the lines he walked over to Torterra.

"Torterra, a Razor leaf at..." He looked about, finding a suitable stack of crates, "There." He pointed.

The grass Pokemon nodded and launched several of his leaves at the crates. Flying through the air for only a second each one ended up slicing into the wood and materials inside the containers. Walking over Dawson let out a long whistle at the sight.

"Maybe it's the new world we live in but have your leaves always been this damn sharp Torterra?" He asked pulling one loose and holding it in his hand.

"Torterra!" Was the only prideful reply he got from his Pokemon.

He brought the leaf back over to the table and tapped it against the metal. Each tap cut into it with relative ease leaving small cuts in the side of the metal. He examined the leaf itself as it was firm, only bending when force was applied to it length wise, and obviously really damn sharp. Satisfied he took it and began sliding it along the side of the sign, shaving off slices of metal with each pass.

Several minutes passes in silence, the two Pokemon occupying themselves while Dawson went about his work. Eventually he placed the somewhat dulled leaf down and held up the once triangular sign. It now looked more like an arrowhead with it's sides shaved off into sharpened edges and it's tip formed into a much sharper point then before.

Taking it over to the post he checked the size of it's circle and compared it to the arrowhead sign. Pulling out the marker a few times he made a few more markings. Putting both down he grabbed another leaf from the boxes and walked back over to the pole. Pulling out his bootlace he carefully bent the leaf around the pole, cutting himself a few times despite his care, before tying it off with the string.

The leaf secure he brought the pole to the sign and used the leaf to dig into the base of the arrowhead sign. The work was slow and deliberate, he knew he only had one chance with decent materials like this, as he carved a hole in the base of the sign. Almost a half an hour later Dawson finally let the bootlace come undone and the leaf fall to the ground. After refitting his bootlace he brought the pole up and smiled as it slid into the newly created hole.

"Still a bit loose though..." He mumbled to himself, "Gardevoir can you compress the sign so it tightens around the pole?" The Pokemon nodded and the trainer felt the psychic energies compressed the sign around it's post.

Satisfied for the moment Dawson lifted up the newly made spear and felt it's weight. He knew it wasn't well balanced but he wasn't a blacksmith so other than noticing it there wasn't much he could do about it. Gripping it by the haft he tested it out by swinging it a few times.

Thrusting the spear forwards Dawson felt his shoulder fill with pain. Crying out the sudden shot of pain caused the trainer to drop the spear to the floor with a clang. Reaching up and cradling the shoulder with his other hand he felt the pain begin to die down. From the door Dawson heard Clair step into the room just as he pulled his hand away from his shoulder.

"Are you alright?"She asked, "I thought I heard someone shout."

"I'm fine." Dawson said gently flexing his shoulder to work away the pain.

"You're lying" Clair said.

"Yeah and? Last time you got the truth out of me because it was a mutual exchange of information. There's nothing I want to know about you so drop it." He said picking up the spear before going over to the wagon and pulling out some spare scraps of cloth from one of his ruined shirts.

"Well I'm sure Joy would be please to know that you're hiding an injury on your shoulder." Clair replied.

Dawson paused and turned towards the gym leader, "That's blackmail and even if your did that it's not like Joy can force an examination on me."

Clair chuckled slightly in response to Dawson, "Oh I know she couldn't force the issue, but you'd have to deal with the fact that she'll realize you don't trust her." She said.

"That's still blackmail." He replied.

"If it makes it easier to tell me do it to make up for that comment earlier." She replied.

"I knew that would come back to bite me." He said with a sigh, "My shoulder got bit by one of the Ariados in that forest I told you about, I washed out the wound as best I could..." Dawson removed his shirt and Clair got a clear look at the welt, about three inches across, on his shoulder.

"That doesn't look so bad..." She said once she got a good look at it.

"That's after Gardevoir AND Chansey both healed me and it's still here. Apparently poison is much more... more..." Dawson said before his sentence trailed off and he staggered slightly, grabbing onto the edge of the cart.

"Now what's wrong with you?" She said taking a step forwards before being waved off by Dawson.

"Just a bout of vertigo... Gardevoir, if you would." He said standing upright while his Pokemon approached.

A flash of pink light and the trainer took in a relaxing breath, letting his body relax as the heal pulse flowed into him, "OK what are you doing now?" She asked as she watched.

"Getting a pick me up. Getting back to what we were talking about earlier." He began again, picking up from where he left off.

"Wait, Hold on. How long have you been doing that?" She asked with concern.

He completely ignored the question as he began tying the strips around the shaft of the spear, "It seems Poison doesn't just go away now. Rapidash..." He paused in his work for a moment before continuing, "Rapidash had been poisoned before we met with you and even if she hadn't been killed by the Tangela I don't know how long she might have survived."

"Ignoring my question." She asked.

"Yes." He replied.

"Fine, so why make a spear?" She asked.

"Oh you mean my new SIGN SPEAR! De do do de de do de do!" He said with gusto raising the spear above his head.

Clair's face was a mixture of disbelief, incredulity, and dumbfounded , "What the hell was that?"

"It was item find music... you know... like you hear in video games." He said.

"I don't play games." She replied.

"Ahh you Gym leaders are all one track minds..." He said rolling his eyes, "Anyways when we were at the Pokemon center that Marowak attacked us and I was pretty much completely defenseless... I wanted to change that. So I made a spear."

"Do you even know how to use a spear?" Clair asked.

"No not really, but I know how to impale a charging Pokemon which is pretty much the only use it'll have... anything that can fire stuff at me pretty much wins by default." He replied.

"It's like arts and crafts meets the Colosseum." She said, "Is this the only one you'll make?"

"Depends on if I have time to get more supplies, we only have food for a month at best and we'll need to secure more if we want to make it though the winter. It depends on how much food we can get. By the way since we're speaking about supply runs, I'm going to push for you to accompany me to Blackthorn tomorrow." He said looking over at her.

"I take it Lance isn't working out then?" She asked knowing Dawson would realize it was a rhetorical question.

"As admirable as it was to try to save that insane Marowak it endangered my Pokemon... I lost one already and I swear to god I'm not going to let some idiot looking for good karma threaten the lives of my Pokemon!" Dawson said slamming the spear point into the ground.

Clair watched with impressed interest as the tip actually sank into the ground, "Sharp... Do you think Lance will take it personally?" She said.

"Well hopefully he takes the line of protecting the children without complaint." He said, "Plus you know the town better then he does, in addition I'm sure there are unmentionables both you and Rosemary want."

"And... a chance to put Kaburagi to rest." She added with a hint of sadness.

* * *

><p>Agricola<p>

A single Noctowl cry sounded off across the otherwise silent town. Night had fallen and most Pokemon had long since gone to sleep. The town and surrounding areas had lost much of their life in the recent days. Only a few Pokemon groups remained and many of them had started to get very desperate in their new environment.

The Stunspore, now mostly washed away, had killed much of the plant life near the town. Nearby lakes and rivers had become tainted with the paralyzing nerve agent. Any Pokemon left had accepted a much more lethal attitude towards each other as they vied for the dwindling resources. If any of the townsfolk had survived the initial days of the undampening they would have been shocked into silence by how their town had devolved.

A single flash of light and Kadabra appeared on top of the Pokemon center. Short range teleportation required only knowledge of the immediate area. Long range teleportation meant the person or Pokemon would have to focus on a single location, often the town's Pokemon center.

Kadabra looked about at the ruined town as he settled from his teleport. Once calm he began sending out a psychic wave, searching for any other Pokemon in the area. He didn't have to search for long.

From behind him a dark blur shot out of the darkness aiming for Kadabra's neck. Inches before striking the psychic Pokemon teleported away avoiding the attack effortlessly. Ending up on the roof of the Pokemart he looked up at his would be murderer.

"This is a baaaaaddddd place for a weak little psychic to teleport to buddy." The Murkrow said with a sneer, "It's my lucky day that the others don't bother with the town anymore... now I get to enjoy a nice juicy meal all by myself."

"You'll find your meal harder to swallow then you expect, scum." Kadabra replied.

"Oh? I was planning on killing you THEN eating you. Now I think I'll only maim you so I can keep the next few meals... fresh. But maybe this little Psychic thinks he can hurt me with his fancy big brain?" The Murkrow said taking off and circling a few times before dive bombing Kadabra.

"Filth..." The psychic muttered to himself.

As the Murkrow dived at Kadabra his flight path was suddenly interrupted by another flying object smashing into him and sending him spiraling through the air. Holding the large dumpster aloft with his mind he sent the metal container flying towards the shocked Murkrow. Stunned and unable to avoid it the bird was swept inside the dumpster.

Slamming the lid closed Kadabra started violently moving the trash container back and forth knocking the bird around inside. Pelted with trash and tossed about like a rag doll the Murkrow eventually felt the dumpster slam down into the ground with a crash and his rocky ride finally ended. Covered in garbage and feeling pain in every feather Murkrow eventually crawled out of the dumpster and collapse on the ground at the Kadabra's feet.

"Ple... please... don't kill..." He pleaded with the Psychic.

Leaning forward, the sneer on his face now, Kadabra addressed the bird, "Oh I'm not going to kill such a wretch as yourself. I have a task needing to be done. One that even a lowly scum like yourself can accomplish." He said.

"W... what?" The Murkrow asked weakly.

"Get your friends... All of them."


	22. Chapter 22

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Wow let holidays give you a break and your entire schedule just goes up in smoke.

August 25th

Team Rocket Base

"What do you mean I'm not going!" Lance shouted at Dawson as the he finished looping a cloth strip around Togekiss.

The two were currently outside in the early morning fog of the lake. Dawson had spent most of the night sharpening his spear and crafting the makeshift harness for Togekiss. It was only when Lance came out and started talking about where they were going next did the trainer realize that the entire night had passed by him without him even noticing. Not one to dance about issues he made sure the dragon trainer knew immediately about the change.

He sighed as he tightened the straps on Togekiss one last time, checking with her that it wasn't pinching or choking, before turning to Lance, "In any normal situation I'll tell you not to take it personally but seeing as the reason your staying here is that you're... you." Dawson said gesturing to all of Lance, "I'm going to make an exception and suggest you take it personally."

"And who put you in charge? Last I checked you weren't this groups leader." Lance said with a hint of bitterness.

"Are we doing the 'not in charge' thing again? I hate doing the 'not in charge' thing, can we skip today's installment of everyone's favorite time wasting conversation?" Dawson replied sardonically.

"What right do you have to prevent me from not going?" Lance demanded, "Just because you were able to keep those children alive doesn't make you somehow infallible, nor does it give you the ability to rule over us like some kind of dictator."

Dawson's initial reply was a sigh that quickly turned into a disgusted sound he drew up from the depths of his throat, "Lance really I don't fucking care what ideas you may have about the authority that either of us holds. You're not going and I know short of this blustering protest you're not going to fight it because it would mean leaving Joy and the others here without any qualified trainers to protect them." He said.

Lance responded with a humorless chuckle, "So you're using the lives of Joy and the others as blackmail... classy, do I at least get a reason why you're leaving me behind." He asked.

Dawson felt the throbs of a headache in his head as the dragon trainer posed the question to him. Turning on his heel he marched straight at Lance until their faces were only scant inches away from each other. For several long seconds Dawson simply stared down the Pokemon champion.

"Figure-it-out-asshole." He said finally before heading to the door inside, "It's taking far too long for you to grasp this new status quo."

Togekiss watched as the two trainers walked away still arguing. She shifted her wings around attempting to adjust the new harness in a slightly less uncomfortable position with little luck. Before she gave up a flash of light off towards the beach drew her attention.

Gardevoir had just teleported in from, what Togekiss guessed, the inside the building. The psychic Pokemon looked about a few times before letting out a sigh similar to the ones Dawson had been using. Floating over Togekiss watched as Gardevoir began focusing again.

"What are you doing Gardy?" She asked as she observed the psychic.

"Attempting to gain more accuracy with my teleport, it's been years since I last used it and it appears to have changed slightly, like with much of our powers in the recent days." Gardevoir replied patiently, "What about you? Have you had any issues adjusting?"

"No... not really, I feel a bit bigger now though, I hope I'm not getting fat." She stated looking at her wings, "Course it was pretty awesome getting to smack around those Murkrow."

Gardevoir looked over at her smiling companion with a bit of distaste, "I wouldn't think the killing would have appealed to you..." She stated.

"No way! Before I was always the weak one, always feeling like I was around only because I could fly. Now I'm as strong as you guys and I'm helping even more now beyond just being a ferry service." She said with obvious pleasure, "This power has been great, we're all even now and no one is more powerful than anyone else, I think that's great!"

The psychic went back to focusing on her next teleport, "You know Dawson never thought of you like that." She said, "And I would caution your exuberance for this new world... not everyone is happy about this, if they even have the luxury of being happy."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Togekiss said with a hint of irritation at being lectured to like that.

"You think Rapidash liked this new world she lived in?" She replied before silently teleporting away, leaving Togekiss unable to respond.

* * *

><p>Blackthorn<p>

Dawson could feel the cold air cut into his body as he and Togekiss flew in for a landing. Higher altitude than the rocket base and even Mahogany town, Blackthorn was built within the mountains of Johto. The extra altitude and approaching fall season made flying up to the town an uncomfortable and cold experience.

He opted to avoid the more complex touchdown method when his multiple passes overhead revealed no movement within the town. From what he saw it was still mostly intact and if anyone had been killed outside their bodies had been cleaned up or eaten by now. Swooping down Togekiss slowed, then stopped, allowing her trainer to climb down from her back. The landing finished he recalled her to her Pokeball and attached it to his waist with a click.

Following behind him Clair simply slid off the back of Dragonair once it was close enough to the ground. The dragon Pokemon's snake like shape made flying difficult but climbing on and off a breeze. She looked about the town with a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

"I don't see the bodies..." She said, "When the bat Pokemon attacked they killed dozens of people before we could retreat inside the houses. Their bodies are gone."

"I'm more wondering why this place wasn't iced." Dawson replied.

"Maybe Suicune started doing that after Blackthorn?" She said, "Or maybe our town wasn't important enough to deserve it?"

"Wondering won't accomplish much, do you have anything specific you need to do?" He asked.

"You mean getting something else more practical to wear then what I fled the city with?" She replied looking down at her bodysuit.

"Much to my regret." Dawson said with a chuckle.

Clair felt her cheeks flush at the trainers comment, "Not even the end of the world can stop men from turning me into eye candy." She said with a hint of indignation.

"Says the woman who's attire consists of a skintight bodysuit that doesn't even cover her legs or arms. Don't play the martyr with me Clair." Dawson said rolling his eyes and pulling another Pokeball from his waist, "I have a few things to pick up for Eric and Rosemary so I'll meet you at the gym, and after we can check on the Pokemon center."

"Fine, I'll meet you there." She replied putting a hand on Dragonair and walking away towards what Dawson assumed was her home.

Left alone with his thoughts the trainer headed in another direction towards one of the buildings the others told him about. He looked about the town with a hint of curiosity. It was going to be his first destination in Johto during his training vacation. He felt too close with his Pokemon to want to give them up so to change the format of this journey he opted instead to tackle the gyms from the bottom up, going against the order many suggested to him.

Letting out a sigh he released Torterra from his Pokeball and patted him on his side, "Keep watch buddy I'm going in to some of the buildings." He said, sliding his spear off his back and clutching it in both hands, "Hopefully I won't need this."

Approaching the first door he checked the doorknob, and finding out it was locked, proceeded to kick it in for refusing to open. The sound of breaking wood filled the air as the door smashed inwards from the application of force. Several more strikes and it was rendered into splinters and pieces of wood hanging from the hinges. He looked back at Torterra who by now was giving him a confused look at his assault of the door.

"Don't give me that," Dawson said in response to his Pokemon's gaze, "If I had you break in the door the whole house would be splinters, you know you're not the most graceful Pokemon on my team," Torterra looked slightly downcast at Dawson's words, "Hey come on, you know your own importance to the team don't go getting all bent out of shape. Hell I know for a fact no one else on the team would ever want to piss you off!"

He smiled and patted the soft mossy shell of Torterra again. After seeing him cheer up slightly he turned and headed inside the building. He knew he had been neglecting his Pokemon lately but with so many things to do he had to trust that they'd be OK on their own. The loss of Rapidash made him worry about how the team was coping but without a form of reliable communication he could only do so much.

Stepping though the threshold he looked about the house with curiosity. It seemed somewhat spartan at best. A single room with a television, sink and stove, and the center of the room being occupied with table an accompanying chairs. He would have commented about the unimaginative living accommodations but knew several places in Sinnoh that were just as bad.

He took a step forward and heard his footsteps creaking on the wood of the floor alerting anyone nearby to his presence. He paused for a moment when he heard a low growl coming from behind the table. In the instant he brought up his spear a Persian jumped onto the table. The growl came from the Pokemon as it glared at the trainer, it's fur raised and its tail pointing straight up into the air.

The two passed several moments simply staring down the other as each one could clearly perceive the threatening posture the other had. Eventually Dawson opted to act first, slowly taking a step to the side of the room, intent to get to the drawer at the back containing Rosemary's clothes. One step over the other, moving sideways as to keep the spear pointed at the Pokemon.

The Persian watched, still growling all the while, as he circled about the room slowly, "Listen pest, I only want some of the clothes in that drawer. Let me take them and we get to do this the easy way." He said as he inched closer and closer to his objective.

As soon as he was half way around the table the Persian chose to act. Leaping forwards and onto the tip of his spear the Pokemon lunged at the trainer using his own weapon as a springboard. As it attacked Dawson had just enough time to move the spear to the side preventing his opponent from getting a clear shot at his throat or head.

Unable to strike a vital spot the Persian chose to attack the next best target. It raked its claws along the trainer's arm, drawing blood and a cry from Dawson. Landing next to him the Pokemon readied its next attack only to feel the trainer's boot contact its side and sending it flying away into the air, Smashing through the window, and crashing outside in front of a now very startled Torterra.

Not sure what to do with the Pokemon in front of him Torterra fell back on instinct. As quickly as he could he brought down his foot on the Persian trying to squash the offending Pokemon before it could get away. Unfortunately the said Persian was faster than him and darted from its landing spot as the flat sole of the ground Pokemon left a crater where he had been just a second ago. What followed was a rapid smashing of Torterra's feet as the Persian darted back and forth from where it hid under the ground Pokemon.

Eventually it managed to bolt out and away from Torterra. It sped off down the street and around a corner before Dawson's Pokemon could draw a bead on it. With the surprise threat gone and a chance to calm down from the sudden shock Torterra looked about at the now cratered street with a bashful expression before moving to the door of the house to check on his trainer.

The ground Pokemon let out a sigh of relief when he saw Dawson tending to his wound while complaining non-stop about the Persian. He had opened the drawer and removed on of Rosemary's shirts from inside. Tearing it into strips he wrapped the cloth around the wound and was currently tying it off with his free hand and teeth.

"Damn stupid piece of... this is what I get for trying to be nice." Dawson said with clenched teeth before meeting the gaze of his concerned Torterra, "What? I'll be fine, just wait outside for me OK?"

He turned back towards Rosemary's cabinet and pulled out a trash bag from his pocket.

* * *

><p>Clair sighed as she walked though the doorway to her own home. Some gym leaders lived within their own gym she chose to live in her own one room house. Blackthorn wasn't a major city by any stretch of the imagination. Clair often mused the title of city was more because of her and the gym then because it had the population to be considered one. If not for her and other dragon trainers this town would have likely never even warranted being placed on a map.<p>

As she moved though her house she had to step carefully as the place was a mess. Overturned table, destroyed furniture, and every window and glass object smashed into shards of still dangerous glass. She needed to get some clothes other then the body suit she currently wore. When the Pokemon went on their rampage it started a chain of events that left little time to catch even your breath much less time to get clothes for a long journey.

The memories the first night stirred within her mind as she walked though the mess of her home. She had just finished her gym duties when it all happened. Chaos everywhere as her and the towns people's Pokeballs released their Pokemon. Followed by their dragons rampaging and wrecking much of the small city.

After they had regained control she and the people were allowed a single day of respite before the chaos renewed as the night descended upon the city. The Zubat, Golbat, and Crowbat attacked Blackthorn eating and gorging themselves on anyone not fast enough to escape the chaos. She had rallied everyone in her gym and only in the safety of its basement were they able to wait out the night.

The next day Lance arrived, she recalled with some amount of bitterness, that everyone who had looked to her during the night now turned their eyes to the member of the elite four like he was some sort of savior. He wasn't able to live up to that title as the third night the bats renewed their attack on the city. Only with the intervention of the Dragonite from the dragon holy land did they escape.

Clair let out a dejected sigh as she picked up an overturned picture frame of her and Kaburagi standing together with the previous gym leader. She felt her grip tighten when she remembered his death when Suicune came to the valley. Taking most of her and Lance's remaining Pokemon he got the group into the ice cave as he went to go fight Suicune to allow them time to escape.

A loud pop jolted her out of her memories as a crack in the frame's glass had formed from her grip. She felt her hands loosen as she returned to the present. Her eyes began to blur as she realized she was starting to tear up.

After wiping away the tears with a free hand she headed over to her drawer. She slid a hand along its smooth wooden surface her fingers collect the dust that had gathered during the days she had fled the city. Brushing off her hands she opened the drawer and started pulling out some clothes.

She opted for her standard travelers clothes to wear at the moment. Brown pants, a comfortable black shirt, red jacket and her hiking boots. After dressing and tossing her bodysuit off into a corner even after cleaning it at the rocket base it still had mud, dirt, and grime covering it. The used garment enjoyed a brief flight before landing in a pile of dust in the corner.

"I doubt I'll ever wear that again..." She said remembering the last few days of discomfort while on the run.

As she finished dressing she walked over to the side of the drawer and picked up the backpack leaning against the side. Brushing the dust off she started piling her clothes into the bag. Her packing done, she looked down at the table and the photo that was still on it. Picking up the frame she felt the pit of her stomach drop as she felt the emotions start to assail her again.

The picture frame in her hand she gave it one last look before throwing it as hard as she could at the nearby wall, "You stupid idiot Kaburagi..." She muttered before turning to the door.

* * *

><p>A half an hour later.<p>

After Clair had collected as much of her clothing and important possessions that she could fit within her pack she headed towards the town's Pokemart. A small little store it wouldn't have looked amiss with gas pumps out in front. The town ended up being fairly self sufficient overall and as an often end gym for many trainers they often only spent their hard earned battle money on more potions and the next level of Pokeballs.

The building itself was in good condition without much damage from the bat attacks she saw on her approach of the building. Clair imagined it was due to everyone preferring to run in terror rather then shop. She could see her gym from where she waited and felt a twinge of sadness to see it with far more damage than the Pokemart. She leaned against the wall of the mart and released her Dragonair assuming she was going to have to carry some of the things they would get from the mart.

An hour later and she still hadn't seen Dawson anywhere. After the first few minutes she had started collecting things from the mart on her own initiative assuming the trainer would be along shortly. After removing much of the backroom supplies, what she needed to take was easy to identify with over a week of no power anything that was able to go bad had done so by now, she proceeded to wait outside for him only to spend much of that time simply waiting.

Only after another long wait did she finally see him and Torterra. Packs strapped to the back of the giant ground Pokemon. Dragonair floated over to Torterra them while Clair approached Dawson.

"What took you so long?" She said.

"Ran into a pissy Persian and it got a chunk of me in the ensuing scuffle. That made getting Eric and Rosemary's things slightly more annoying." He said.

"I take it since you managed to get their stuff that you're not grievously wounded?" Clair asked.

"Just a flesh wound." The trainer replied, "Seems like you did a good job without me, shall we check in on the gym then?"

"Considering how wrecked it is I can't imagine how someone could still be there." She said before she noticed Dawson giving her a rather large smile, "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh just the whole 'reasonable and fatalistic attitude' thing... Lance wouldn't shut up about how we're going to find survivors with cake and ice creme and then bring them all back for our own little abandoned base party." He said sarcastically, "It got really annoying really fast."

"You know I think Joy might have been right about you." Clair replied.

"Oh? What did she say?" He asked.

"That you took all this," She moved her hand in a broad sweeping motion, "Far too easily, I mean it's one thing to dismiss the likely-hood of finding survivors it's another to be able to joke about it like Joy and Lance said you do." She said.

"... And?" Dawson asked.

"And what?" Clair replied.

"And is there any point to you telling me this? I mean yeah I deal with this shit easier than you, so what?" He said heading towards the gym, "It's not like my results aren't speaking for themselves you know."

"Not everything is about the end result..." Clair said following behind him.

The two approached the arena building without much caution. Both of them, flanked by their Pokemon and having seen almost no other Pokemon in the area, felt fairly safe to walk about without concern. The bat Pokemon would remain in their caves for hours yet and anything else in the area was giving the town a fairly wide berth.

The building had signs of battle and forced entry all over its structure. Most were located near the main double doors of its front entrance. Claw marks, dents, and craters from violent impacts, and the doors had been blasted inwards.

"So quick question Clair." Dawson said looking at the dragon trainer, "Didn't everyone get ferried off to the Dragon holy land during one of the nights after this whole thing happened?"

"Yes... but it was chaos, everyone scrambling as quickly as they could to get away from the bat Pokemon." She said pushing passed the destroyed doors and into the dimly lit interior of the building, "Not everyone could have gotten out when we left. I know Lance wanted to return to get the rest but then Suicune attacked."

"Yeah I can imagine that would put a damper on things. So is there a basement someone would hide in or is this just a giant room for battles?" He asked.

"A basement in back for storage of battlefield repair supplies, if there are any survivors that's where they'd be." She replied.

Both didn't feel the need to continue the conversation as they walked though the arena building. Despite their calm Dawson still had his spear out and resting against his shoulder. If someone or something did jump him he didn't want to be fumbling with straps while it was on his back. Both had recalled their Pokemon and the few seconds it took Clair to release hers might be critical.

Passing the large central arena they moved to the hallway in back reserved for the gym leader, "You know I always wondered where this hallway led, I kinda thought it just looped around so the gym leader could make dramatic entrances when challengers came calling."

"It does link back to the main hallway and some prefer to do that..." Her statement trailed off as they approached the door to the storage room.

Like the front the doors had been smashed inwards and barely hung onto their hinges. The light from the windows of the building showed one of them what she had feared and the other what he had expected. Bodies lined the inside of the storage closet. Most having fell to the floor a few had died collapsed against the supply walls, their eyes and face locked in horrified mute scream.

All of the people inside were gaunt to the point where they looked almost like mummies. Each one had a pair of large holes located in random parts of their bodies. It didn't take much for either trainer to realize that the bat Pokemon must have broken in and drained all the blood of every last person inside.

Clair knew what to expect with the town as empty and untouched as it was. Nothing had been touched in the town and the floor inside the gym had dust covering the floor that had only been disturbed by their own passage though. She wasn't however prepared for Dawson's comment.

"Huh, well this sucks." He said nonplussed.

She felt a bit of anger welling up inside her at his blase attitude towards the dead before them, "These people are... were my friends, at least you could try to be respectful." She said.

Dawson rolled his eyes at her comment, "You know you're right," He said before looking into the room, "Anyone here care if I'm respectful? Just raise your hands if you want me to stop..." He waited for a moment before continuing, "Well good to know they're OK with my jokes."

"You... This isn't a laughing matter Dawson." Clair said icily.

"Clair I know this situation might be draining for you but-" Dawson began before Clair slammed her fist into the wall nearby.

"Shut up with the stupid jokes you bastard!" She screamed at him, "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you care, don't you feel anything at all! People are dead and dying now and your making sick jokes like it's nothing! How would you like it if I made jokes about your Rapidash's death? Knowing you you'd probably not even give a shit!"

Dawson glanced at her, "What do you want me to do, cry about it? I don't deal with death like you do, sorry to be the reasonable one here." He said turning around and heading back the way they came.

"Reasonable, You say that like it's an accomplishment!" Clair snapped, "What do you have to deal with? You've only lost one Pokemon to this catastrophe and you haven't lost your home to this! You say you're reasonable like you have any cause to be unreasonable."

Dawson stopped where he was and held up a clenched fist before raising a finger, "One, Rapidash was the first Pokemon that ever tried to be my friend she was a part of my life before I even got my starter so don't give me any shit about how I didn't care. I deal with things differently then you and you're just going to have to accept that." He raised a second finger, "Since this shit started I've been surrounded by children who I've had to lie, coerce, and trick into following my lead least they end up running off a nearby cliff in panic." He held up a third finger, "I had to burn an entire goddamn forest to the ground... do you know what that's like? Blood stains my hands now and there was no way I could have avoided it because if I didn't it's likely everyone else would have died instead." He held up a fourth finger, "The only other adult before our group met yours is in almost constant need of comfort which I struggled to provide, and now that the group is larger I have even more people I have to deal with that I feel completely under qualified in dealing with." He held up his thumb last, "And I'm not even from around here... I lived in Sinnoh, do you know how far away that is from here? My town might not have been destroyed like yours but I don't know, I don't know about my parents, my friends, my colleagues... I know absolutely nothing. At least you have closure. I'm stuck here babysitting you guys because quite frankly I don't want more blood on my hands due to me leaving. So yeah I kinda feel like I've been perfectly justified in considering myself the reasonable one here."

With that he turned and faced Clair. His eyes carried a seriousness that she hadn't expected from him. He let out a sigh and ran a hand though his hair looking and feeling far older then he was.

"You don't trust us to take care of ourselves?" Clair asked walking up next to him.

He turned and began walking towards the exit, "No I really don't because I don't think any of you, losses and all, really understand the new world we live in. If I screw up at all, if I slip up at any point, if something goes wrong that I didn't plan for... someone will likely pay for it with their lives. Rapidash died... Rapidash died because I didn't plan for after separating from the group when I went into that forest. Rapidash died because I didn't realize how bad the poison was. And I think the only reason everyone else lived was because Lance's Dragonite saved the day. Even then that could have ended with Gardevoir annihilated if I hadn't been fast enough."

"You know you can't control everything." Clair said as they approached the exit, "And we're not helpless babies either."

Dawson's reply was cut off as both suddenly heard the sound of a large gun cocking drawing their attention away from their conversation. Facing them in the threshold of the doorway stood a man with a shotgun pointing at the two of them. The trainer let out a sigh in response to the new threat.

"See?" Dawson said, "Shoulda seen this coming."

* * *

><p>Woods of Agricola<p>

The woods around Agricola were becoming more and more silent and empty since the dampener removal. Between the sudden shift in Pokemon power levels and subsequent damage caused by it, the drastic overturning of the normal food chain, and the stun spore dropped in mass over the entire area contaminating the water supply it was little wonder the Pokemon that could escape did and the ones that couldn't died. The few that remained were either scavengers or hunters of the scavengers.

The trees themselves were showing the result of the tainted water supply. Leaves normally going from green to the yellows and reds of the fall now took on a sickly brown color and dropped by even the slightest gust of wind. The bark of the tree often oozed dark sap and where it didn't ooze the bark would often fall off. Across the forest floor yellow mushrooms began to grow and spawn.

A flash of light broke the stillness of the forest as Kadabra teleported outside the mouth of a large cave deep within the woods. Accompanying him was the Murkrow he had previously met, covered in multiple bruises, grime, and dirt from repeated thrashing by the psychic.

"Can I please go back to the others now?" It pleaded in a pathetic tone.

"Silence cur, I need to know that this is the right place and that you understand the price you'll pay for being wrong if it isn't." He replied.

"It is, it is boss I'm sure of it." The Murkrow said, "Can I please go now?"

"What is it about these Pokemon that would make you earn my ire by trying to flee?" Kadabra asked genuinely curious about the Pokemon's fear.

"Natural enemies, we're their only source of food at this point and they're frekkin good hunters!" He replied, "Every time I see something worth eating, bam! There they are. It's insane how they can keep hounding us like they do."

"So you see food that you're able to eat and every time they're there waiting for you?" Kadabra asked.

"Yeah it's like... magic or something." Murkow replied.

Kadabra shook his head and started forwards. He didn't have it in him to bother informing the Pokemon that the food was likely just bait to trap him. He felt words were often wasted on the stupid.

"Stay here." He said as he walked forwards into the cave.

The inside of the cave was reasonably well lit. The time of day meant that the sun provided enough ambient light to illuminate the interior. While Kadabra couldn't see any Pokemon inside he could clearly tell they were around him. Shifts in shadows and the occasional pitter patter of padded feet gave him all the information he needed to know they were surrounding him.

Gathering his voice he called out to the moving shadows around him, "Your time spent hiding from me is wasted, I know you're all here, I would speak with your leader." He called out with a clear loud voice.

At once the shifting within the shadows stopped. Several long moments passed in silence around Kadabra as he waited for their reply. Eventually the psychic Pokemon could feel a pair of eyes on him once again. Turning around he looked up at one of the overhanging rocks within the cave. Meeting his gaze was the Mightyena's alpha.

"What do you want?" He asked looking down on Kadabra.

Giving a small bow Kadabra replied to the alpha, "I come before you with an offer, Ho-oh's war with the humans is fought on many different levels. I offer you a chance to join the war to take back our world from the humans. You, like many others, have had your lives ruined due to their experiments and actions and I offer a chance for revenge against them for their transgressions. I also offer a chance to escape this hellish area and start over, away from this plague of death that's sweeping this place." He said sweeping his hand to the entrance of the cave indicating the dying trees and land, "What say you?"

"I refuse, Leave now." The alpha replied.

"Surely you jest, what reaso-" Kadabra began.

"I said leave." The alpha said with a louder voice cutting off the psychic.

"... So be it. I warn you however that not all in Ho-oh's service are as accommodating as I. If you change your mind find us by heading in the direction of the rising sun." He said walking out though the mouth of the cave and teleporting away with the Murkrow.

The alpha watched until the psychic teleported away. Once Kadabra left he turned and headed deeper into the dark caves. As he walked two more Mightyena fell in behind him.

"He's right about some things." One of them said with a distinctly male voice, "This area isn't going to be able to support us much longer unless we do something."

"I know that." The alpha responded.

"Our children won't be able to grow strong if we keep feeding them nothing but Murkrow and scraps." The other said with a distinctly female voice, "We have to do something."

"I know." The alpha responded again, "What would you have me do? Join with that warmongering Kadabra?"

"No, of course not. But we can't ride out this storm it seems." The female replied.

"We could try finding those humans..." The male replied.

"NO!" The alpha barked, "That human trainer murdered some of our friends and family we will not coddle up to him now! I will not bargain with him if my life depended on it!"

"It's easy for you to say, your son isn't traveling with them!' The male barked back.

Both Mightyena squared off with each other. Fangs bared their growls echoed down the chamber. Their backed raised and ears flattened. They spent several seconds just staring at each other searching for a sign of weakness.

"Oh for... Both of you stop it!" The female said moving between the two before looking at the Alpha, "We can't say here regardless of which side we would take. We should at least leave the area and search for new territory otherwise we'll all just starve and that will solve our involvement in this war that's brewing. Let us do as the Kadabra said and head towards the rising sun and see how his little war plays out. We don't need to commit ourselves to any side yet."

"Fine." The alpha said turning away and continuing down the tunnel.


	23. Chapter 23

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 25th

Rocket Base

Lance hated staying behind. Boredom, apprehension, and idleness had been eating away at him since he watched Clair and Dawson vanish over the horizon. His situation hadn't been improved when he found himself dealing with almost everyone's problems. The Blackthorn survivors still looked to him as the leader and kept coming to him anytime they wanted to do something or talk.

"I- I think it could be done though Lance..." Eric said walking alongside the dragon trainer down the corridor of the Rocket base, "If... umm... we get that tower up and we could... well probably... start sending out radio messages. Of course it does have a few umm... issues?... that we'd have to deal with..." He said nervously fidgeting with the notepad he had used to explain his plan.

Inwardly Lance knew he couldn't brush off Eric when he actually had something important like this. He also knew the promise of such an undertaking. However he also knew today was turning into a very long day, one which he wished would end sooner rather than later.

"What do you mean issues?" He asked patiently.

"W-well for one thing it's on the ground," He said his voice gaining confidence as he looked out the window at the ruined tower, "Although with Dragonite and possibly the two Gyarados we can probably lift it back up. The other is tools, if we're lucky I'll have them when Clair and Dawson get back. The third is... a unique.. problem."

"How so?" Lance asked.

"Well... if we do this, we might contact people." Eric said nervously.

"How is that a problem, isn't that the goal of fixing this?" He asked.

"Ideally yes... but that's just it, we might not like who we contact. You already have... issues with Dawson, what if we get more people who... well... annoy you or him?"

"Noted Eric, let me think about it for a while OK?" Lance replied, "...How have you been adjusting?"

"Fine... I- I don't want to complain or anything." He said.

"Is something wrong, beyond the obvious world ending?" The dragon trainer asked.

"Well w- what are we doing here?" Eric asked running a hand over his bald head.

"huh?" Lance replied with confusion, "Obviously we're trying to survive."

"Yes and I don't want to stop doing that... but beyond that, what goals do we have past survive and find others doing the same? Are.. are we doing anything to fix the problem, anything to try to ensure our long term safety, anything beyond just making it to the next day?" He paused for a moment unsure if he should go on before continuing, "Joy is teaching the children and the... well possible... repair of the tower is what I'm trying to get at... like... what we plan to do once survival is no longer on the menu. I- I know it's going to sound... really depressing but I don't think any amount of survivors or supplies is changing the fact that the world we know has ended. If we... if we want long term survival we're going to have to start thinking about things like that."

Lance didn't reply right away, thinking about what Eric was telling him, "Do you really think?" He asked letting the question end itself.

"Umm... yeah, sorry Lance but I really do think the world we know has ended." He said sadly, "We, the adults that is, are going to have the hardest time dealing with that fact I think."

Letting out a massive sigh Lance put a hand to head, "Well, if I wasn't thinking about enough things..." He said sarcastically.

"Oh... uh... sorry." The mechanic replied sheepishly.

"No you're right to bring it up... it's just a big thing to think about. I never was very good at social studies class." He said jokingly.

* * *

><p>Gardevoir was worried. She had always kept herself aware of where everyone was to the best of her ability. Her psychic powers allowed her to scan the area and feel the presence of someone if they were within her range. This allowed her to monitor and supervise the children while helping Joy lift something or talk to one of her Pokemon companions.<p>

She could sense that Lance and Eric were near each other, Joy was talking with Rosemary, The Mareep and Flaaffy grazed outside, and both Gyarados swam within the lake while Dragonite flew overhead. What she couldn't sense was the presence of the Ponyta, Luxray, or the children. She felt ashamed for even allowing the children to slip away and now she had only the faintest idea where they might be.

This worried her. Despite her reluctance to get close to them after her outburst her own inner nature worked to get the better of her constantly. While she didn't regret her journey with Dawson it did mean she had no chance to have anything close to the family she left behind. The children, so trusting and innocent, looked to her with the same eyes she once looked to her parents with.

Her brow furrowing in concentration she felt the psychic powers within her well up and around her. In the next instant she felt herself outside in the sun. The Teleport much more accurate than when she had tried earlier in the day. She glanced around while her eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

The Mareep had been grazing all the while during Gardevoir's Teleportation practice, as such they were less than shocked when she appeared next to them, "Mareep have you seen the human children anywhere recently?" She asked politely.

"Uhhh..." The nearest Mareep replied uncertainly.

"You were watching them, correct?" She asked her voice gaining a dangerous tone.

The Mareep looked about at his fellow Pokemon only for them to shuffle away from him, "Well... umm... that is..." He said.

"Aren't those children your masters now? Shouldn't you be endeavoring to keep them safe? You spend your time munching away at the grass and none of you payed any attention to their absence." She said scolding the Mareep.

"I... uhh..." He replied completely at a loss.

"Hold up Gardevoir... I saw where they went." One of the Flaaffy said stepping out of the herd, "Try not to be too hard on them, they're just simple Pokemon." He whispered to her placating the psychic.

"Still..." She replied casting the Mareep a dirty look.

"You can't expect simple farm Pokemon to react in any way beyond their means, they're just simple farm animals." He said.

"What about yourself? You seem more intelligent than the rest." She said.

"Might be because me and my brothers evolved beyond our simple upbringing." He said, "Either way you want to find the children?"

"Yes, I'm sure it's nothing, the forest has been empty for what seems like ages, but I worry..." She replied.

"Well some of that can be put to rest since Luxray is with them." The Flaaffy replied, "First stop the forest where the children are!" He said as he began to walk along the shore of the lake.

* * *

><p>"Marcus, Steven slow down already!" May called out, "If you're not careful you'll get caught and eaten by a Pokemon or something."<p>

The child, along with the other girls, had been trailing behind the two boys as they trekked through the woods next to the two fire Pokemon. They had been walking ever since Joy had let them out of their mandatory class session. All they two boys had told them to do was follow them and carry a bunch of plastic bags. As of yet none of the girls knew where the boys were taking them.

"We'll get eaten by a Pokemon?" Steven asked incredulously, "Have you been listening to Joy and the other adults May?"

"No... but you still haven't told us where we're going." She said.

"I suppose you're not going to stop nagging until I do?" He asked.

"No! Now slow down and tell us what we're doing out here" She said stomping her foot down.

"Me and Marcus saw some trees full of fruit and berries along the ridge off in the distance when we went on our ride around lake. We're going to check them out and bring some back. I don't know about you but Ramen and instant dry food is getting a little old for me." He said slowing down and letting the girls behind the two of them rest.

"What about Pokemon that might attack us?" She asked.

"There aren't any Pokemon in the area that I've seen yet, Lance was talking about something that happened here a while ago scaring them all off, plus we have Luxray and Ponyta with us so we'll be able to deal with anything that attacks us." He said giving the mane of the electric Pokemon a brush.

"Luxray, Ponyta, and Flaaffy and Gardevoir." Lisa added a moment later drawing a confused look from Steven.

It was only after the fluffy electric Pokemon burst through one of the nearby bushes, Gardevoir following by going around, and happily hopping towards the children. Steven sighed as he watched the Psychic do a headcount of the children while Flaaffy started nuzzling up against Michele, who responded by petting the soft wool of the Pokemon's mane. The young boy wanted to do this with as few people as possible but it seemed unlikely now. He just hoped Gardevoir wouldn't try to get them to turn around after she finished counting the children.

When he turned around and continued walking without the Psychic impeding him he safely assumed that Gardevoir wasn't here to stop them. He surmised that she, like many adults, simply wanted to keep an eye on them. He hating not being able to act on his own but knew arguing the point with a Pokemon that couldn't respond to him was futile.

It didn't take long for the group to cover the remaining distance to the grove of trees and bushes. There was enough space for all the children to move about in and it didn't take long for their farming heritage to kick in and prompt them into working without Steven even saying anything. While the entire area had long since grown over Steven thought that at one point this might have been an orchard run by someone. The trees around him were too well organized to be a natural gathering.

He planned for the group to be out for no longer than an hour. It took the group almost a half hour to even get up to the orchard which meant that he had to plan for the return trip as well. He also knew that any longer and the adults would likely pop a blood vessel if they didn't get back within a reasonable time. He knew if he had bothered to ask them his idea to harvest this place would be ultimately rejected so he had to get results first.

As the kids happily went about collecting the berries and fruit Steven made his way around the trees and bushes. He knew that the immediate area around the Rocket base was devoid of Pokemon but they currently stood just barely within the estimated area. He had no clue what the total area around the base devoid of Pokemon was but he didn't want to take chances.

Steven continued to move about the area listlessly as Gardevoir watched the young child from where she was. She held an Aguav berry that May had brought her as a present. She had tried one before and found the bitter taste to be unappealing, the confusion that followed from eating it had convinced her never to eat another one. She didn't want to insult the girl by throwing her gift away so for now she hung onto the berry hoping to rid herself of it on the way back.

* * *

><p>"Luxray... you should have told me you were taking the children out here." Gardevoir said looking at her electric companion.<p>

Luxray was currently laying down on a small patch of grass that the sun had warmed with it's rays. Upon arrival she had looked over the surrounding forest for any movement that might have been a Pokemon. Unable to see anything she found her spot and contented herself to snooze while Gardevoir watched the kids and Flaaffy helped them gather. She lazily opened her eyes and looked over at the psychic Pokemon.

"I didn't take the children anywhere. They chose to leave on their own, I simply tagged along because Rachael and Michele were brushing my fur." She replied.

"It would have been nice to know though, you all had me worried." Gardevoir said.

"Nice to know you have so much faith in me defending them." Luxray replied.

"You know that's not what I meant!" She said.

"Of course I did but you have the same problem Dawson does, you don't have faith in anyone beyond yourself." The electric Pokemon said, "It's the reason you went crazy before. You push yourself beyond what you can do and suffer over and over again until it finally breaks and you're left attacking everything and anything."

"That's not..." She replied feeling her objection die on her lips.

"Oh by my soft electric charged wool are you two always so darned serious all the time?" A voice asked snapping both of them out of their conversation.

They looked up at the Flaaffy tearing them down, "We're not serious, we're having a discussion." Luxray said.

"Please, a discussion never gets that heated." Flaaffy responded, "You two are just like your trainer, always acting like the worlds going to end if you don't constantly remain dour. You guys need to learn to relax a little."

"Easy to say for someone like yourself, but this world doesn't allow for relaxation now." Gardevoir replied.

"Tauros shit, look at those kids, do you think they're worried about death or the end of the world? No! They're worried about how to get to the best berries at the top of the tree. That's it. And you two could help with that, but NNNNNNOOOOOOO you'd rather sit there and complain about how serious this world is and how dangerous things are if you're not constantly watching them. Spend all your time worrying about what's in front of you and you'll miss everything around you." The Flaaffy said before turning to help the children again.

* * *

><p>Rocket base<p>

"Lance are you busy now?" Joy asked walking into one of the spare rooms Lance had currently hidden himself in.

The Dragon trainer didn't like hiding from everyone like this but after they had realized the children had been missing it had been utter pandemonium. Almost non stop worrying and fretting from everyone in the base. Rosemary was by far the worst as she almost rushed off into the middle of the woods searching for them and Lance's Dragonite had to psychically block her before she made the situation worse.

What followed was Rosemary hounding Lance to do something despite having no knowledge of where the children went. Only after Joy came though and pointed out that Gardevoir, Luxray, both Ponyta, and one of the Flaaffy were gone too did she start to calm down. It didn't stop her from haunting Lance's footsteps after he chose to put his faith in the Pokemon guarding the children. Only recently was he able to get away from Rosemary long enough to duck into one of the many rooms in the base and collect his thoughts.

"I'm hiding, please have mercy on me." He said weakly from where he sat at one of the tables.

The nurse closed the door behind her and smiled softly, "Rosemary is somewhat... overbearing isn't she?" She said sitting down next to him.

"I fear for my life when she's breathing down my neck." Lance said placing his head on the table, "If you swear to keep my hiding place secret I have all the time in the world for you. What did you need?"

"Umm it's not need... so much as... well... I wanted to talk for a bit." She said sheepishly.

"Talk?" Lance asked tilting her head to the side to look at her.

"It's something... well I like talking with people, it's one of the reasons I wanted to be a Pokemon nurse. Before we got here, and met up with your group, I didn't have many people to talk to. Dawson isn't really good for discussion, and the children are too young to really talk with either." She said.

"What about Eric or Rose... Right never mind." He said, "What did you want to talk about?"

Joy felt herself blush slightly, "To be honest I don't know. I just felt this was a good time for talking and didn't really plan for after that." She said.

Lance chuckled to slightly and sat up straight, "So do you really think the children will be OK out there?" He asked with a worried tone.

"Yes, I still worry but I've seen first hand what Gardevoir and Luxray can do. They're both frighteningly powerful now and the children are tougher than Rosemary gives them credit for. I sometimes think they're more useful than someone like me." She said sadly.

"Oh come on Joy, You know your own worth. I certainly don't see you as less useful than those kids." Lance replied trying to cheer her up.

"I do know my own worth which is why it gets to me." She replied, "Those children have adapted better, been more useful, and are going to be more useful than anything I could hope to accomplish. I can see that... so can Dawson."

Hearing her say that the gears in Lance's head finally clicked on what was bothering her, "It's because of Dawson that you're getting depressed about that isn't it?" He asked getting his answer when Joy's face grew red with embarrassment.

"N-no! I mean, that is that... well his opinion... its just something I feel... I just..." She stuttered trying to form a reply, "I just don't... want to be viewed as useless by him."

"Joy come on... even I know Dawson wouldn't view you like that. I mean he thought it was a good thing that you started the school for the children, I'd even wager he was impressed by it." Lance said, "I mean I know I was! If anything I should be the one feeling useless." He added.

"What? But you're Lance of the elite four, Pokemon champion and G-man. What could you feel useless about?" She asked.

"What does all that do for us though? Pokemon champion is only useful in structured battles. Being one of the elite four is just a meaningless title now. And a Pokemon G-man... I abandoned my duties to rush to the aid of Blackthorn and couldn't even save more than three people. Dawson said something to me before he left and I think I'm starting to understand what he meant." He said.

"What did he say." She asked.

"He told me to figure out why he was so irritated with me... I think I'm beginning to understand." Lance replied.

"He doesn't like you because you're a leader like him." Joy replied.

"No... he doesn't like me because I don't have any useful skills to bring to the group." He said.

Before they could finish both of them heard raised voices from the outside. They both paused and listened for a moment to hear the sound of Rosemary's frantic cries and one of the kids yelling back. They shared a brief look with each other before moving to the door and rushing out to defuse the situation.

* * *

><p>Outside<p>

"You're never to leave sight of the building again!" Rosemary said to the assembled children, "Furthermore I think it's high time we lay down some ground rules before one of you gets hurt!"

The children had been forced to gather around the distraught woman once she had heard that they had come back. Most were shifting nervously while she lectured them on what they had done wrong and how much trouble they were in. Only Steven reacted differently from the group.

Steven's reaction was much like his reactions when any adult started telling him what he could or couldn't do. He was silently building up anger while Rosemary started laying down rules and regulations they had to follow from this point onwards. Eventually it came to a head when Rosemary said they had to start using the buddy system to protect them.

"Oh will you shut up you stupid twit!" He shouted stunning the adult into silence, "A buddy system, are you dense? We're fine, everyone's fine, we have food and a way to get more, and we explored part of the area around here! And as soon as we get back we're rewarded with you trying to lock us up in cages!"

"Steven that's no way to talk to your elders!" Rosemary countered trying to regain her momentum.

"Since when has age mattered after all of this?" The boy said cutting off her next sentence.

"W-what?" She asked unsure where he was leading the argument.

"Since all this began, when has you being older than me mattered?" He asked again rhetorically, "I'll tell you! NEVER! You being older has never mattered because we're all the same in this world. Saying it does is like saying you know to skydive better because you're older even though you never did it yourself. You know what we just did? We found a source of food! We did it, NOT YOU! You have done nothing but worry and fret not helped anyone do anything."

"Th- That's not true!" She said unsure how she was losing this argument.

Steven had been planning this argument for the better part of the last two days. He hated being handled and knew he had to keep this momentum going otherwise his gamble to get the others to come with him to the orchard would end up costing them their freedom. Strike while the iron was hot he had heard the adults say. As he readied his next verbal barrage he didn't see Lance and Joy approach.

"You just want us to stay behind and do nothing to make yourself feel better! You can't stand the idea that we're capable of acting on our own. You want us to be useless so you can can feel better about not being able to do ANYTHING! We've done something worthwhile and useful and you want to take that away from us. WELL YOU CAN'T!" He said screaming the last part.

Rosemary took a step back as she was assaulted by his words. She tried to mumble out a response but couldn't manage anything to trump the boy's arguments. Her shoulders slumping she managed to mutter out a reply.

"Thats... not true."

"But it is true..." Lance said stepping forward.

"Lance!" Rosemary said trying to regain her composure.

"It is true. We are too proud of the lives we once lived to think of it being impossible now, too sure of our own superiority that we never questioned ourselves only the world, we've been fooling ourselves thinking that our strength in the old world would translate to equal strength here. Steven is right we are useless adults." He said drawing a shocked look from Rosemary and a smug one from Steven, "Joy was right in trying to set up a school, we need to learn how to fit into this world, how to survive here because if we don't I very much doubt we'll even survive the upcoming winter. Of course we'll have to adjust your lesson plan Joy." He added smiling at the nurse and getting a smile in return.

"But you can't just let Steven get away with what he did?" Rosemary said indignantly.

"Get away with?" The boy replied with irritation, "What did I get away with other than getting food that's not instant meals which Dawson loves so much."

Lance looked over at the boy with a concerned expression, "I'm not going to punish you for what you did Steven." He started earning a gasp from Rosemary, "But you can't just do what you like without telling anyone."

"You would have just said no if I asked." Steven said.

"You're probably right but what if we had sent out a search group? We would have had two groups of people we can't keep track or know about which only makes things worse. I'm not saying you have to ask permission but at the very least you have to let us know where you planned to go, it would have saved a lot of grief between both parties." He said looking between the boy and Rosemary.

Steven looked like he was going to start yelling again before letting out a 'humph' and muttering, "Fine next time I'll tell you."


	24. Chapter 24

The Pokewars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Sorry for the delay, apathy can be a killer.

August 25th

"So tell me again how you justify blaming yourself for this?" Clair asked, her hands raised in the air as she looked at her traveling companion, "Because, I heard what you said it's just completely idiotic."

"I should have realized there were other survivors out there." Dawson replied with a sigh, "And because I didn't here we are with our hands raised in the air."

"Do you need a minute?" The gunman asked looking back and forth between the two.

"Yes." Both of them replied.

"Fine I'll just stay here and wait while I have you both at gunpoint." The man said.

"Thank you," Dawson replied with sincerity, "At least he's courteous enough to let us get this argument out of the way."

Clair was about to respond when a thought struck her, "Are you trying to defuse the situation by doing this? Making this humorous back and forth between us." She asked fixing him with a stare.

Dawson rolled his eyes in response, "No... I'm attempting to defuse this situation by adding a surreal AND humorous exchange between us. You're just lucky I can roll with the punches that come from blatantly spelling out my intentions like that."

"If you want you could go back inside and try coming out again?" The gunman said slowly lowering his weapon.

"Tempting but no I think the majority of the threat you posses has been defused when you chose to lower your firearm." The trainer replied.

"Heh, I kinda like you dude. Sorry about the gun, you can't be too careful these days. Bad Pokemon and bad men about if you know what I mean." He said.

"So you'll put away the gun?" Dawson asked.

"Hey I said I liked you, not that I trust you." The man said.

"Fair enough, I'm Dawson this is-" The trainer began.

"Clair from Blackthorn city." The man finished for him, "It was only a week or two ago that I was up here battling for my Rising badge. Clair, you're as beautiful as ever. Do you remember our battle?"

"I remember." Clair said icily.

"Wow I'm honored, I can't imagine gym leaders remember every trainer they meet." The man said oblivious to her tone.

"So have you been hiding out here, or did you just arrive and we're swimming in coincidences today?" Dawson asked.

"Just got here a few minutes ago actually. I heard the sound of... well something making a ruckus and thought there might be survivors." He said, "Names Hal by the way."

"Ahh yes that would be my Torterra then..." Dawson said, "So if it's not too intrusive is that gun the only thing you're using to protect yourself out here?"

"No, I still have some of Pokemon. But I have to ask first, why are you two here? Last I checked most everyone is dead. Other survivors I've met have been traveling looking for safe places or people to be around. This place really doesn't have either." He asked.

Dawson was about to answer when he realized Clair had managed to prod him in the back with one of her fingers. The action, unknown to Hal, conveyed enough of Clair's intent for him to quickly adjust his impending answer. Dawson didn't know what the Gym leader's reasoning was but he could always ask later.

"We've been looking for places like you said, but we remain here as a base of operations so to speak. It's easier to go out on our flying Pokemon and search knowing we can come back here than it is to trust fate that our destination would have what we need to survive." He said.

"Hey, this isn't really the best place to have such a large conversation, We should head back to the center of the town and talk there." Hal said.

Nodding his approval Dawson followed the man as he turned and started walking away. Clair moved up next to him and deliberately began slowing her pace to put some distance between the two of them and Hal. Catching the intent Dawson kept pace with the gym leader as she walked next to him.

"So what's the deal?" He whispered to her.

"I don't like him. Remember how I said as a gym leader I was good at reading people?" She asked getting a curt nod in response, "When I met him before all this he was at best scum. He never got the Rising badge, he spent most of the battle staring at me like a pervert." She whispered bringing her arms around her like she was trying to warm herself up, "After the battle he spent all his time hitting on me until I had make up an excuse to leave the town just to get away from him. Now, impossible as it seems, he feels worse than before. I don't want him knowing where we're staying... really I just want to leave him behind as fast as possible."

"Not so fast Clair. Even if he is a sleaze he has knowledge of the area and probably some information on what's going on out there. We need that information so you're going to have to put up with him for a bit." Dawson said keeping his voice low.

He rolled his eyes at the glare Clair leveled at him, "Dawson, I swear..." She began.

"Relax, relax..." He said cutting her off, "I get it, alright." With that he jogged forwards and caught up with Hal who had not seemed to catch any of their conversation, "So since we've been using this area I might as well show you to the Pokemart so we can get you supplied up and on your way then?" He said cheerfully.

"Huh, Don't you think it would be better for us to travel together?" He said glancing back towards Clair.

"Well do you have any Pokemon that can fly?" The trainer asked.

"Only a Magnezone, that and Butterfree are my only two Pokemon that survived out here." He said with a hint of remorse.

"Wow, I'm starting to really feel bad about having almost all my Pokemon survive..." Dawson said offhandedly.

"Almost all of them?" Hal asked shocked at the revelation.

"Well just about, I lost one only a few days ago." He replied sadly, "I know I can't complain but... well let's not dwell on things. Clair can you get the things ready for our next outing?"

"Yeah sure, I'll start gathering things here then." She replied curtly before heading off to one of the houses she left some supplies at.

"Aww she's not working with us?" Hal asked with a hint of dejection.

"No, she... likes to do things her own way, come on let's get moving towards the Pokemart." Dawson said beginning to walk in the direction of the store.

"So..." Hal said as the two walked through the town, "How is she?"

"How is she?" Dawson repeated not sure how to answer the question.

"You know... Clair. Surely you've gotten some from her by now. I mean seriously have you seen her body. I'm practically depressed that she ditched that fantastic jumpsuit." He said moving his hand in front of him miming out an hourglass figure.

"Yes she is attractive but I really don't know how you would have gotten the idea that I would have slept with her." The trainer replied.

"What really?" Hal said incredulously, "You have more Pokemon than her, I figured AT LEAST you come to some sort of protection agreement."

"Um, no. Even with one Poke- Wait what do you mean 'at least'?" Dawson asked.

"Oh come on don't tell me you're one of those 'rules still apply' kind of people. Listen I'll spell it out for you and you'll thank me for it. You clearly have the upper hand in this situation with more Pokemon than her. Whatever agreement you two came too you could have easily had that on the table at least, and if she doesn't agree... well how could she not." Hal said letting the statement hang in the air.

Even an idiot could figure out where Hal was going with his train of thought and Dawson was far smarter than that, "Are you seriously suggesting that I would rape her?" He said turning the face the man with a disgusted look on his face, "I'm going to do both of us a favor and assume you've been taken by a brief bit of insanity and don't know what you're talking about so we can avoid the impending altercation that will surely happen should we continue this conversation."

"Jeeze sorry, I didn't know members of team rocket held themselves to such high moral standards." Hal said rolling his eyes.

"What? I'm not part of-... oh right the uniform." Dawson said his hand connecting with his forehead in a dope slap, "Well at any rate we should be at the mart by now..."

The two of them turned round the corner to face the Pokemart still off in the distance. A silence settled over the two as they approached. Neither one really wanting to say anything or choosing not to say anything. Finally the silence was broken by Hal right as they got to the mart.

"OK... so you guys are planning to leave without me aren't you?" He asked looking straight at Dawson.

"Huh, What makes you think that?" The trainer asked, not making eye contact as he headed to the door to try to pry it open.

"Well for one I'm not deaf, I could hear you and Clair talking earlier, then there's the fact that you said both of you have been here awhile yet the mart looks like it's your first time trying to get in, and lastly there's the whole Clair hating me." Hal said putting his hands in his pockets and shrugging.

"Well you're not stupid." Dawson said giving the door a few shoves.

"No I'm not, by the way you'll want to check this out." Hal said pulling his hand out of his pocket.

Dawson turned around just in time to get a face full of purple powder. It hit his face and caused the trainer to cough a few times breathing in the dust. Hal brushed off his hand on a nearby trashcan while Dawson tried to disperse the dust with a hand. Staggering back as he inhaled the powder he felt something start to weigh down his body. His vision swam and he felt his mind start to blank. Falling backwards he hit the closed door behind him as his eyes drooped and closed. His last sight was the sneering form of Hal standing over him.

"Sleep powder... gets them every time."

* * *

><p>Clair had just finished putting down the last of the bags she had pulled from her home. Alongside the things she and Dawson had gathered a problem had formed that she discovered when she looked at the assorted supplies. Simply put there was far too many bags for two Pokemon to carry. Togekiss and Dragonair were stronger now but both had their limits and carrying the two humans already put a strain on them.<p>

She looked at the pile and sighed to herself. Kneeling down she began to look through them to find what things she could part with and what wasn't a major necessity. For several minutes she went about her task silently and diligently. It was due to this silence that she could hear footsteps approaching behind her. Spinning about and grabbing one of the heavier bags she turned to face whoever was sneaking up on her intent to cave in their skull for their stealthy approach.

"WHOA please don't hit me!" Hal said cowering in mock fear as he took a step back from the gym leader, "I was only going to do a 'guess who!' to you."

"Considering the state of the world, that's only going to get you killed." She replied bristling, "Where's Dawson?"

"Back at the mart, he wanted me to check in on you." Hal said smiling as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Clair leveled an icy glare at the trainer as she replied, "I somehow doubt that."

"Listen I know you don't like me but couldn't we try to be friends?" He asked taking a step closer.

"No I don't think we could." Clair said crossing her arms over her chest.

Hal let out a sigh and let his shoulders slump, "Sorry to hear that." He said, "You know as awful as these times are there are some interesting side effects that have happened."

Clair, still holding the bag, never stopped glaring at the trainer, "That's nice, why don't you go get Dawson instead of wasting my time talking about side effects."

"Oh but you'll want to hear about this one. My Butterfree, when she finally woke up after that crazy night, was able to produce large quantities of the powder from her wings that I could actually collect if I was careful. Like for example this sleep powder." He said throwing a handful of the purple dust into Clair's face, "And it works on humans and your friend found out."

Clair couldn't help but breathe in some of the dust when it hit her face. Her vision immediately began to swim as the sleep powder then tickled her nose causing her to cough and breathe even more of the dust in. With all her strength she pulled on the bag she held and brought it around in an arc attempting to strike Hal. Her body however was already starting to fall asleep as she felt her feet give out from underneath her and the swing went wide without Hal even trying to dodge.

The trainer smiled as Clair fell to the ground before him in a pile as the powder's effect fully kicked in and left the gym leader slumbering before him. He wasted no time, shouldering his shotgun and kneeling down by her. Sliding his hands under her sleeping form, he turned her over and stared down at Clair. Letting his hand slide along her he let himself enjoy the soft touch of her body though the fabric of her clothes for a moment before looking up and about around the town.

Eventually he decided on something in his mind and slipped his hands underneath her, one hand under her back the other under her legs, and lifted the unconscious gym leader in his arms. Turning he headed to a nearby house leaving behind the gathered supplies. Approaching the door he let his foot open the entrance and carried her inside.

It didn't take long for Hal to find a bed nearby and place the sleeping beauty on the soft mattress. He followed that with unfastening his shotgun's strap, putting the weapon down beside the bed, and placing his pack near the door. He approached Clair and stared at her unconscious form with a mixture of a sneer and smile. Looking at the gym leader once more he let his eyes close and took a few calming breaths. Swallowing to clear his throat of the dryness that had formed he opened them back up and smiled at the fact that he wasn't dreaming.

Sliding up to the side of the bed he sat down on it next to Clair's unconscious form. As he slid his hands up to her shirt and began slowly unbuttoning he recalled the last girl he had been with. After the dampening had killed her Pokemon and the townspeople where the two stayed he recalled how she was almost pathetically grateful for his protection. He had wished she was more attractive but after seeing almost everyone in town die he wasn't going to be choosy since the destruction seemed to be worldwide. It didn't take much of a push before he could do what he wanted with her. The death and carnage around them made for powerful tools of persuasion.

The last button coming undone Hal was rewarded with the sight of Clair's undershirt. His lust taking over he climbed onto the bed and straddled her unconscious form and let his hands forcibly grope and grab her breasts though the shirt. He felt his breathing quicken as his libdo started to take over his actions. He assumed at some point he'd find another girl after the first one got killed, he never expected it to be a beauty like Clair. He wished she was awake for this but he wasn't going to complain as he continued to assault her breasts with his hands before grabbing the undershirt and ripping it off her body. His actions furthered his libdo at the sight of her bra but they also had another side effect.

Clair, whose dreams were becoming a twisted mirror of the assault, felt her mind begin to wake up from the nightmares and from the forceful contact of Hal's hands. She was trying to figure out why her body was so heavy and her chest felt so odd when she felt something slimy slide across her cheek. The shock of the action snapped her mind back into place as she remembered the sleep powder attack and her eyes opened to the sight of Hal hovering over her half undressed body.

The trainers shocked eyes met her own for a brief terrifying moment. Both were stunned by each others actions and it was a mental race to see who would act first. Hal won the race for the first action as he slammed his own hands down on her wrists pinning her to the bed. Clair, however, won the most decisive action as she brought up a knee and smashed it into Hal's crotch. The trainer let out an agonized cry and fell off the side of the bed and onto the floor.

Clair, who despite waking up to such a shock, was still groggy and rolled off the other side hitting the ground and knocking something over next to her. Looking from where she lay she saw Hal's shotgun hit the floor next to her. With speed born of a desperate fear and dread she grabbed the weapon and turned around just in time to see Hal start to climb over the bed towards her.

Facing down his own gun the trainer froze then slowly started to raise his hands, "OK... OK... you got my gun... I'm backing away now." He said creeping backwards off the bed, "I know what I did was wrong... but just hea-"

He never got a chance to finish his sentence as a loud bang filled the room and the trainer was launched backwards into the wall. Hal felt pain fill his chest as the buckshot pellets pierced his lungs and caused him to cough up a mouthful of blood. He looked down at his bleeding chest and realized Clair had just shot him. The last thing he realized was that he heard the distinct cocking sound of his gun. The world went black for him after that.

Clair felt the recoil almost knock the gun out of her hands as the first shell left the chamber. The second shot did knock the gun out of her hands. The kickback was only partially to blame however as the other reason was that she saw Hal's head explode when the shell hit him in the face.

The gun clattered to the ground beside her and she heard the shell that had ejected from the chamber clatter to the floor nearby. The mutilated body of her rapist teetered against the wall for a moment before it fell forwards onto the ground with a thud. After it hit the only sound left in the room was Clair's own breathing as she trembled on the ground where she rolled off the bed.

She tried to calm down but only managed to wrap her trembling arms around her as her as if to ward off a cold wind that wasn't there.

* * *

><p>Dawson felt great. He was inside a Pokemon stadium surrounded by cheering crowds and jubilant fans of all ages. He had entered the championship Sinnoh league and battled his way to the top. Beaten every challenger and came face to face with none other than Clair. Not only did he face her but he had won in what critics were calling a battle of the ages.<p>

He spun around basking in the glory that came with winning the championships only to stop when he faced the arena again. In the center was his Rapidash but not the one he had just battled with. A different Rapidash it's body twisted and mutilated, it's eyes and sides leaking bile, and it's wounds pouring blood on the floor. It's wounded poisoned eyes did nothing but stare as Dawson felt himself backing away from the horrible sight.

His first step back he felt something catch then crunch underneath his foot. Looking down he saw the twitching body of a Spinarak crushed underneath his sole. Surrounding his other foot was strands of razor sharp webs that painfully cut into his leg drawing blood and sending white hot spikes of pain throughout his body. The guts of the Spinarak and the webs surrounding his legs started to cause him to fall, he managed to maintain his balance but only for a moment before another strand of web looped around him and pulled him backwards, cutting into his chest.

Falling backwards, his chest sliced open and his leg being shredded by the razor sharp web, he came face to face with the burnt and charred face of an Ariados. It was then that the cheers from the crowd suddenly took on a much more shrill tone like the sounds of thousands of bugs screaming as they burned to death and the world around him burst into flames as the burnt Pokemon launched itself at him it's fangs cutting into his face and body at it bit and stabbed at the trainer.

He felt himself scream, he wasn't sure if it was in the dream or not because the nightmare world was suddenly shattered in the next second when a blow rocked his head to the side and sent his mind stumbling out of the nightmare he found himself in. He tried to groggily understand what just happened when another sharp blow sent his head rocking to the side.

"DAWSON, GOD DAMN YOU WAKE UP!" He heard from next to him.

The voice sounded urgent and carried another tone his sleepy mind couldn't make out, "huh... wa..." He managed to get out before he felt his whole body move as someone grabbed his shirt and started shaking him.

'Wake up wake up wake up!"

"Gah stop stop! I'm up I'm up!" He said as the last vestiges of sleep were forcibly removed from his mind by the shaking.

Opening his eyes he saw Clair standing over him. She had let go of his shirt and took a step back. He wasn't sure what had happened after he passed out but his first clue was the shotgun that now hung over her shoulder. Trying to move he found his entire body protesting the movement as it took every ounce of will to even stand.

"Oh god that's a pain in the..." He said wincing as he finally made it to a standing position.

"What's the matter with you?" Clair said watching the trainer rise up from the sitting position he was in.

"I'm just sore or something... give me a minute." Dawson replied, "Nice new shotgun... did you get it from Hal?"

She looked down at the gun for several moments before nodding, "You could say that."

"Clair?" He asked.

"It's nothing... he just won't be bothering us anymore." She replied curtly.

The reality of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks, "Oh god, Clair did he...?" Dawson asked unsure of how to phrase the question.

"No, He didn't!" She said glaring at him, "I didn't let him... but he would have never gotten the chance if you hadn't been so hell bent on being so damn chummy with him!"

"What? Clair I knew you thought of him as a scumbag but there's no way I could have known he'd try to rape you!" He shot back, "The minute I found out he sucker punched me with that powder!"

"I told you I didn't trust him and you ignored me to try to get more information out of him!" She snapped, "Because of that... because of that he almost... FUCK YOU DAWSON!"

"Are you serious, why the hell are you blaming me for this? I made a mistake in trusting him to be sure but I doubt even you pegged him for a rapist!" Dawson said taking a step forwards in anger.

The reaction from his move surprised him as the first thing Clair did was take and urgent step backwards, "Back off Dawson!" She shouted her free hand drifting towards the gun.

Surprising reaction or no Dawson wasn't going to take the abuse she was dealing out, "You know what... fine. You can be irrational if you want, you deserve that much at least, I'm going to go back to the supplies and finish this up so we can head back." He said walking around her, making sure to give her a wide berth, and leaving her behind.

He didn't care or hear what she shouted at him as he walked away. He knew whatever happened when he was out really did get to the gym leader but he wasn't one to take abuse idly. As he got to the spot where clair had gathered the supplies he looked about for where the event happened. The only logical spot in his mind was one of the nearby houses whose door was left ajar.

Stepping inside and up the stairs he saw what he had expected. Hal's shot up body laying in a pool of his own blood. Dawson closed his eyes and took a calming breath before approaching the dead man. It wasn't his first time dealing with corpses, his time in Agricola and Mahogany had him dealing with bodies as well, but this was the first gunshot victim he had run across. The situation wasn't helped by the apparent headshot the gym leader had scored on Hal.

Stepping forwards, careful to avoid the blood, he reached into the waist of the dead man and pulled out the two Pokeballs he said he had. Placing them on his own belt he then checked the pockets. He was rewarded with a small leather wallet, thankfully free of blood. Checking the contents he pulled out Hal's Pokemon trainer credit card which stored the finances of the trainer in an easy to use form, and then tossed the leather holder onto his body.

Pocketing the card he walked over to the bag by the door and simply lifted the pack over his shoulders. Heading out of the house he looked about to find that Clair still hadn't made it back. He sighed at having to wait and went to sit down near the supplies. Putting down the pack in front of him he opened the front and began looking through in earnest.

Extra shells, food, blankets, and most importantly in Dawson's mind, a map of the surrounding area complete with notes. Unfolding the paper he began studying the parchment in earnest. Several minutes passed before he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. Looking over the map he saw Clair walking towards him, her Dragonair out and nervously floating next to her. He could tell it was trying to figure out why Clair was so much more distant now than before but from the way she kept pushing its nose away it wasn't likely to get any answers.

"Ready to go?" He asked folding up the map.

"Yes." Was the brief reply.

"Then let's load up the Pokemon," He said pulling out Togekiss's Pokeball, "You'll want these by the way." He tossed her the spare box of shotgun shells followed by summoning Togekiss.

The next few minutes passed in silence as the two loaded down Dragonair and Togekiss with the clothes and supplies they pulled from the town. Dawson finished the task started by Clair before Hal attacked and selected the necessities the would bring with them. In short order the two climbed on their Pokemon and headed off towards the rocket base.

* * *

><p>Evening<p>

Kadabra appeared in a flash of light as he softly landed from his teleport. He recognized the woods immediately around him but knew little of the surrounding area. Unlike trained Pokemon which could focus their teleport on things like Pokemon centers, Kadabra had no reason to ever venture near one. This meant many trips had to be taken on foot or through short ranged bursts until one familiarized themselves with the surrounding area.

He found it easier to locate a landmark rather than learn the entire area, then focus on that for his teleportations. This meant he had a much larger region in which he could long distance teleport at the cost of not always knowing what was there. It was a testament to how long he had been in the area that he had almost hundreds of these locations to teleport to.

It then came as a major shock when he teleported to one of his zones and found himself falling through the air. The distance down was almost negligible as it was only a few feet but the surprise that he fell at all made his landing less than graceful. As his feet hit upturned dirt his balance was thrown off and he started rolling down a slope. The world turning over and over as he tumbled downwards he finally came to rest in the center of the massive ditch he had teleported over.

With a shake of his head he gathered his wits about him and started taking stock of the situation. He was in a massive ditch recently formed and done so through brute force rather than any natural erosion. Upturned roots, dirt that was pushed out of the way rather than moved, and dozens of trees knocked over and splintered in the wake of whatever had passed through the area. Whatever had come though had been big, very big.

Looking down either side of the ditch he surmised which direction the thing had traveled in though the knocked down trees. Recalling an appropriate teleportation spot Kadabra gathered the energies around himself for a teleport. He let out a small prayer that he wasn't going to be within the path of whatever came through the area and vanished in a flash of light.

The hill he appeared on was thankfully intact and not destroyed like his last destination. A single tree, which he immediately began to climb, was the only distinguishing feature on it which made it an ideal location to commit to his memory. Moving up the branches he made it to as near the top as he could manage and began studying the surrounding landscape. What he saw made him gasp in surprise.

Far off in the distance he saw it. A large mass several stories tall and easily dwarfing the trees around. It was surrounded by a sickly cloud it seemed to create through holes in it's body. Bulbous in shape it looked like it was some sort of natural fungal growth except completely out of scale of anything he had seen. Covered in red and dotted with yellow spots it slowly creeped along it's path thankfully away from his own travel path and where his troops were waiting. Only with further study did he see how it managed to make it's way along the ground.

Near the bottom of the mass he could see dozens giant segmented insect legs. Each one, at least twenty to thirty feet long, would reach forward and slam it's tip into the ground. Soon the rest of the front legs would follow suit. The one's in back would then push while the front would pull and the entire mass would shift forwards crushing anything in it's path. With this method it would move at a slow but relentless pace.

Only when Kadabra saw movement on the fungal tower that made up it's body he figured out what it might have once been. Small creatures crawled over it's entire body cleaning and tending to the mass. They were Paras and Parasect. His eyes grew wide as the implications struck him. The giant thing used to be one of those Pokemon, but now it had grown to massive proportions that simply staggered the mind.

He also realized that the cloud around it much be spores it released into the air. He saw the results of what happened in Agricola and shuddered at what those spores might do to anything that breathed them in. He only hoped that they had long since dispersed into the air when he teleported into the ditch the monstrosity was creating in the ground.

****"Lord Ho-oh and Uxie will want to hear about this..." He said mentally preparing the next teleport jump.


	25. Chapter 25

The Pokewars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. It is likely Start of Chaos will be updating less frequently as I work on my other story. I've been lacking in inspiration and re-addressing my thoughts might help.

August 25th

Team Rocket base.

The sun had long since dipped below the skyline at the rocket base. The evening had finally taken hold and light was no longer provided by the sun, rather from the moon and stars in the sky. The base was dark as the group kept most of the lights off unless they were far enough inside that no one could see it in an attempt to keep them hidden. Today however was slightly different as not only several of the outside flood lights lit up but the Mareep also had charged themselves up, letting their tails illuminate the area in front of the base.

Lance stood outside the main entrance constantly looking upwards towards the east. Since the sun had dipped below the horizon he had thrown caution to the wind and lit up the base. He knew it would tell Clair and Dawson where they were if they couldn't navigate at night. He also knew it would tell everyone within ten miles where they were if they looked. He felt it was an acceptable risk.

"C'mon you two... where are you?" He said silently to no one.

He broke from his vigil of the skies when he heard the door behind him open and Joy walk out, "Any luck?" She asked.

"Not even a cloud passing by..." He said, "Not that it's possible to tell now. I can't really see the sky that well with this much light around us. Hopefully they'll see it and not someone else... hopefully they're alive to see it."

"They're alive..." Joy said reassuringly.

"How can you be sure?" Lance asked.

"I'm not... but we haven't died yet." She replied with a smile, "And I've been trying to be more positive."

"Is it working?" Lance said before pausing, "Sorry that was depressing... I think Dawson is starting to rub off on me."

Joy responded by laughing softly. The two of them shared a small smile before Lance put on another serious face and started looking up at the sky. Joy glanced back inside when she heard one of the children start calling out for her.

"Seems like they're done getting ready to make supper." She said, "I'll bring some out for you when it's done."

"Oh what are we having?" He asked.

"Soup, Apparently Rosemary is cooking so we'll see if she can help do the cooking chores with this meal." She replied before heading back inside to help.

"Ahh well not like we're really in a position to complain about any food we get." Lance said to himself as he went back to watching the sky.

For once his diligence was rewarded. Across the night sky he heard a sound that most people would be unfamiliar with, but as a dragon trainer he recognized almost immediately. Dratini had let out a shout to warn the Mareep below as the dragon and togekiss both came in for a landing.

The electric Pokemon unfortunately didn't know what to do in the situation and started to shuffle about attempting to go anywhere but where they thought the two would land. From above it made for an amusing sight seeing the multiple lights from their tails scurry about on the ground. Realizing it it would make landing difficult he got to work immediately.

Running to the Flaffy he quickly laid out their orders, "Move the Mareep, form two lines for the Pokemon to land in." He said before heading to one part of the flock to do what he had just said.

Thankfully the more organized Flaffy, along with Lance, formed the sheep into a pair of parallel lines. With the light now guiding the two Pokemon it was a simple matter for Dragonair and Togekiss to glide down the Pokemon's corridor. Once both Pokemon had gotten close to the ground Lance signaled to the Flaffy and the lights dimmed from the electric Pokemon's tails. Clair climbed off as Dragonair came to a stop, Dawson and Togekiss following behind, and walked past Lance without even making eye contact.

The dragon trainer turned towards Dawson with a confused look, "Did... I miss something?" He asked.

Dawson climbed off Togekiss hoping the dismount would cover the pause in his response, "It's... complicated. Ask Clair not me, She's the one who has to tell you what happened." He said working on taking off the supplies from Togekiss.

"What do you mean? What happened Dawson!" Lance said more urgently.

"I'm sorry Lance, for once I'm not doing this because of my disposition towards you. It's something you have to ask Clair about." He said tossing one of the bags of clothes towards the Dragon trainer.

"The hell kind of response is that!" He shouted looking at the trainer as he caught the bag, "Dawson what happened?"

Having enough of shouting for one day Dawson dropped the next bag on the ground and marched over to Lance, "Ask-Clair." He said fixing the Champion with a cold glare causing him to back away a step.

"Umm... anyone want soup?" Came a voice from the main entrance.

Both men looked over to see Joy holding three bowls of soup for them. Both Lance and Dawson traded a looks regarding the argument. Joy handed the two of them their bowls and they all sat down amongst the lights of the base. The silence around the three was stifling, something that Joy noticed right away.

"So... how was Blackthorn?" She asked tentatively.

"Empty for the most part... we picked up the supplies we needed and headed back." Dawson said not bothering to go into detail until the end where his face brightened up, "Oh but Clair did get a shotgun."

"A shotgun? Wait I do remember seeing her carrying something over her shoulder." Lance said thinking back, "How'd she manage to find that?"

"It was... a trade from another survivor." Dawson said before occupying himself with his food.

"Another survivor? What did he say, where was he from, why didn't he come back with us?" Lance asked urgently.

"I didn't get much time to talk with him, he pretty much made the trade then left for parts unknown." Dawson said after finishing his mouthful, "Regardless I need to get back to unloading this stuff before it gets too late."

Lance and Joy watched Dawson go back to the pile of bags he and Clair had brought back from Blackthorn. Both finished their soup and headed back inside the base to go put the bowls away to be cleaned. Had they stayed a moment longer they might have noticed Dawson stifle a yawn while he worked.

* * *

><p>That night.<p>

Joy let out a yawn as she checked the rooms throughout the Rocket base. It was unlikely anything would have moved in especially with the humans now living within the base. She still felt the need to check on rooms before going to bed, if just to calm down her mind slightly. Nights were still hard on her but the nightmares the once plagued her had begun to fade.

Upon reaching the room furthest from where everyone was sleeping she let out a sigh at the sight of Dawson working at the same bench he built his spear previously. The trainer was hard at work with another apparent project. Gardevoir was floating nearby, watching her trainer with a concerned look.

"Dawson don't you think you should go to bed?" Joy asked walking over to the trainer.

"Nah I'm fine I'm not even tired." He said holding up a piece of steel.

He had taken the metal from one of the many piles of debris around the base. He held the scrap of steel up to the single light in the room and let it shine across it's surface. Joy could see from where she stood the shine of a sharpened edge. Much of the metal had been chipped, cut, and sanded away leaving a shining blade. The handle was covered with several strips of cloth to prevent it from chafing the wielder's hand.

"Of course you're not tired..." Came a voice from the hall Joy had just walked down, "You keep doping up on the healing abilities of your Pokemon." Clair said walking into the room.

"Here to yell at me some more Clair?" Dawson asked bitterly.

"Should I... go?" Joy asked, "This sounds like something personal."

"No, Joy I need to ask you for a... personal favor after I finish talking to Dawson." Clair said walking over to the trainer as he continued sharpening the metal machete.

"Talking or yelling?" He said glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"Neither... I just wanted to apologize. What happened in Blackthorn wasn't your fault and me taking it out on you wasn't right." She said holding her arm and refusing to look at the trainer.

Dawson paused in his sharpening after Clair had finished, "Whatever it's not a big deal, water off a psyducks back and all that." He said going back to sharpening.

"Clair?" Joy asked, her voice tentative and shy, "What happened?"

The gym leader looked at the nurse with an expression Joy couldn't read, "I'll tell you, I have to tell you... but first I need to do something." She said

"What?" Joy asked.

What followed was a sudden and angry batch of shouting as Clair walked over to Dawson and grabbed him by the cuff of his Rocket shirt. She unceremoniously dragged him off his stool and pulled him along the ground towards the door. Dawson responded with a series of colorful expletives while trying to grab ahold of something to stop the gym leader from pulling him along.

"First... We get this idiot to go to bed!" She said with clear irritation.

"Clair what the hell I'm fine!" Dawson yelled back.

"Tauros shit." She replied, "I saw how you were getting up after that sleep powder attack. How many days have you been going without sleep?"

"Damn you, let go! Gardevoir, Stop her!" He ordered his psychic Pokemon.

Gardevoir looked back and forth between Clair and Dawson for several moments while the trainer continued to struggle against the gym leader. He was starting to recover from the surprise of being dragged off his chair and was working on getting up while Clair kept trying to drag him to the door. Joy could only watch, torn between her desire to have Dawson sleep and her respect of his wishes.

Eventually the psychic came to a decision, approaching the two trainers as they struggled. With gentle pressure from her mind she halted the trainers as they fought. They both looked to her with shock as they found themselves unable to move at all.

Looking into her own trainers eyes she locked her gaze with his and felt her psychic energies flow outwards from her eyes. It took only a moment for her Hypnosis to affect Dawson and he slowly dozed off, muttering about backstabs and betrayals. With one combatant down she released her hold over both and looked to Clair with acknowledgment.

"Thanks Gardevoir." She said as she resumed dragging the trainer away.

Joy and Gardevoir watched for a moment before hurrying after the gym leader, "So... can you explai-" Joy asked tentatively.

"Not here, let's deal with sleeping beauty first." Clair said cutting her off, "Here grab his other shoulder and it's be easier to drag him."

Joy nodded and both of them grabbed his shoulders. Gardevoir assisted by lifting his legs and the three of them carried the trainer to one of the free bunks. It didn't take long to get him in the bed with the help of the psychic Pokemon. Once he was on Joy draped a blanket over him and followed Clair outside and into the darkness of the corridor.

"Joy... I..." Clair started before hesitating.

"What is it Clair?" The nurse asked looking at her shadowy form in the darkness.

"When... when we were at Blackthorn there was someone else. He..." The gym leader took a deep breath and turned towards the nurse, "He... I think he raped me, I- I don't know if he did... but I need to be sure. I need you to... examine me." Her heart was beating loud enough for her to hear it in her ears as she asked the nurse.

Joy didn't say anything at first, shocked into silence by the revelation, but then walked over to the gym leader and put her hand on her shoulder, "Of course Clair. If there's anything else I can do just ask." She said.

Clair didn't say anything, just turned and hugged the Pokemon nurse while her body shook from the memory.

* * *

><p>August 27th<p>

Rocket base

Clair leaned over the table in the center of the base where the group had set up for their dining hall. The Rocket base had a dining area but it was next to a window and made it less than ideal for eating at night. Many of the luxuries that they had once thought were nice had turned sour in their mind when faced with the new realities of this world. Windows and lights offered too many opportunities for someone to see them or know where they are.

She was currently looking over the map they had taken from Hal. Rosemary and Joy, along with the children, had taken off to gather more berries. The children, specifically Steven, had found their own in collecting berries with the Pokemon. Rosemary and Joy went along to watch over them, although Steven regarded them as simply porters to carry more food back rather than chaperones.

Clair had taken an accounting of the various things they had taken from the would-be rapist's backpack and while the shotgun was useful the map of the area complete with notes was the real score. While looking over the parchment she heard the sound of creaking metal outside. She paid it no mind as Eric, now equipped with his tools, had taken to repairing the radio tower with gusto. He had regained a lot of his confidence with the return of his tools going so far as to draft Lance's Dragonite to aid in the task.

The wayward Dragon trainer, having failed to pry the information out of Clair as to what happened at Blackthorn, had taken to sequestering himself in the rooms and spending his time reading through the books Dawson had brought back. Clair wondered what he found so interesting but let him be. He had little to do after Dawson had vetoed him from any more missions out into the world.

The trainer hadn't seen Dawson up since she and Joy had put him to sleep two days ago. She wasn't too worried overall, they had left him food by the bed and the fact that it would eventually get eaten meant that he was waking up and moving at least. Because of that it was a surprise when she heard him mumble his way into the room.

His hair disheveled, clothes skewed, and the imprint of the pillow on his face clearly showed how much he had slept, "Whaz time iz it?" He asked with groggy voice, any other questions overridden by a yawn.

"Almost ten in the morning, did you enjoy your beauty sleep?" She asked with a teasing voice.

"Uggh... Do me a favor, don't let me go more than a day or two without sleep next time." He said.

"Not the same attitude you had when being put to sleep." She said.

Dawson sighed in response and sat down at one of the chairs near Clair, "That was before I tried to move after sleeping. Apparently having your body constantly moving for several days isn't good for it... who knew." He said stifling another yawn.

"Well I'll be sure to drag you to bed next time you start to skip sleeping sessions." Clair replied.

"So what's drawn so much of your attention then?" Dawson asked looking over at the map.

"It's something that guy had in his pack. A map with lots of areas highlighted and marked with symbols. It seems our..." Clair paused and looked over her shoulder at the entrance to the room they were in before continuing is a slightly more hushed tone, "infamous rapist had traveled around a lot in the week since this all happened. Got a lot of markings down with several areas. If I had to guess the guy was crazy before this all a happened to be this prepared."

Dawson let out a sigh and looked off to the side his gaze not focused on anything, "I sometimes wonder if I'm much different." He said before refocusing and rubbing his arms slightly.

"What you think you're crazy like him?" Clair asked, "What are you doing?"

"I don't know if I'm crazy but considering how well I've taken this shit in stride I sometimes... whatever it's not an issue worth discussing." He said, "And in all seriousness, don't let me do my marathon no sleep runs anymore. It's like my entire body is tight, almost wound up, I feel tired still, and quite frankly it's not just a feeling like I worked out too much the previous day or something."

"Yeah it feels like that trip drained me a bit too..." She said.

"So you got any place in particular you want to go?" He asked looking over at the map.

"Well I don't know the symbols that guy used to note areas. Its basic geometric shapes but what each one represents there's no way of knowing." She said looking at the map, "But I was thinking this area simply because it has more symbols than any other areas."

Dawson examined the point on the map Clair indicated, "Huh..." He said nonplussed.

"What?" The gym leader asked.

"That's a steel mill, or iron I'm not too sure, I know of that area." He replied.

"You know of it?" She said.

"Yeah... kinda. I've never been there personally but Roark had to go down to visit a few times, mostly during worker unrest and trade disputes, and he told me about it. Apparently it's damn near a city in size with all the things cities should have short of a Pokemon center and Poke mart" Dawson said, "And I'm guessing the lack of those is mostly because the place doesn't want trainers mucking about and stealing all their stuff."

"So we're in agreement then, Head over there next and start mucking about while stealing their stuff?" Clair said with a smile.

"Sounds like a plan." Dawson said returning the smile.

* * *

><p>"OK... OK... Little more... and there! Hold it there Dragonite." Eric said as he watched the dragon adjust the battered radio tower from the air.<p>

As soon as the damaged metal tower was held in place he rushed over to the base. He carried with him several long scraps of metal which he immediately used to start shoring up the base of the tower. Once the supports were in place he then moved to the base and picked up several sheets of metal near the base. With the sheets he pulled out a device from his toolkit and strapped on some blackened goggles. Soon the area filled with the sounds of welding as he added the metal to the tower to strengthening its structure and began repairing the damage done by the very dragonite holding it up.

Lance was nearby leaning against the base as Eric went about welding the tower back into a standing position. The dragon trainer held open a book, seemingly oblivious to the noise in the background, and silently browsed through it's contents. Since Eric has started working on the tower this was the scene that played out to anyone watching.

"So how long are you going to sulk Lance?" The mechanic asked over the sparks from his work.

"I'm not..." Lance began before going silent when he realized he was sulking, "Fine I'm sulking, what does it matter to you?"

"Do you really want my opinion on the matter?" Eric asked.

Lance sighed and rolled his eyes at the question. He was frankly startled by how much more confident the man was when he had his tools and something to focus on. Going from someone so mild mannered to this person who actively started conversations rather than hovering around them threw the dragon trainer off every time a conversation happened.

"Well I wouldn't have asked if I didn't." He replied.

"Well it seems to me..." He started finishing his welding on one of the legs of the tower and moving to the next, "That it's less about how Clair and Dawson are treating you, and more about 'why' they're treating you like that."

"No their attitude is what's bothering me, if they were more polite it wouldn't be an issue." Lance said looking over at the water as his Gyarados, alongside Dawson's, swam by the shore.

"Really? I think if they were polite about it then you'd think they were patronizing." Eric replied during a pause in his welding.

"If there's a point I want you to get to it Eric." Lance said.

"Fine I'll just ask the question then, Are you mad at Dawson and Clair for treating you like you're useless or are you mad at being useless?" He said glancing over to the dragon trainer.

'I... whatever, the kids are coming back I'm going to go greet them." The dragon trainer said heading over towards the edge of the woods.

Eric rolled his eyes at the once member of the elite four as he walked away before getting back to work.

* * *

><p>The woods, some distance away.<p>

Growls and the snapping of jaws greeted anyone who approached the enclosed forested area deep within the woods. Dozens of Pokemon had gathered around two apparent leaders. Anyone listening in could clearly hear the anger present in many of the sounds coming from them. Both Arbok and Clefariy worriedly looked about at the hungry and angry faces of their army.

"We're starving!"

"I'm tired of eating human corpses!"

"When are we going to get some real food!"

All the shouts and complaints were directed squarely at the two impromptu leaders of the group. Kadabra had left several days ago and had yet to return. Their only indication that he hadn't died along the way was the arrival of a murder of Murkrows.

Their arrival was currently the cause of many of the complaints. Not only did they complain about everything but they ravenously ate and gorged themselves at every opportunity. What food there was in the area should have lasted the small army for weeks but with the arrival of the bird Pokemon it was quickly becoming harder and harder to forage for a meal.

Clefairy and Arbok could only control the various Pokemon so much. Neither of them were viewed as leaders to everyone and Kadabra's presence and will was what kept most in line. Not only were most afraid of the psychic but his drive to kill the humans and grow this motley crew of Pokemon into a real army had given them purpose.

"I know we're all hungry..." Clefairy started.

"Of course we're hungry you stupid twit! Those Murkrow have been eating everything and our glorious leader is nowhere to be found." One of the assembled Pokemon called out.

"Ssssilence foolsss!" Arbok hissed in anger, his own patience having run out hours ago.

"Oh go stuff yourself you hissing idiot!"

"WHO SSSSAID THAT!" Arbok shouted out staring into the crowd of Pokemon unable to find the culprit in the sea of faces.

Just as violence was about to break out a flash of light drew their attention to one side of the clearing. Both Clefairy and Arbok held their breath as Kadabra had returned. They had hoped to get the situation under control before he returned to avoid complications. The look in his eyes didn't give them hope of avoiding trouble.

He walked towards the two Pokemon oblivious to the crowd and their anger, "Come you two we have much to discuss." He said.

"HEY! We're hungry here, those stupid Murkrow you brought on have started eating everything! What do you plan to do about that!"

Kadabra glanced over toward the group of Pokemon. With a flick of his hand a single Sandshew floated upwards. His claws were at his throat and he was gasping for breath as the psychic choked the air out of him.

"My diplomacy with lord Ho-oh did not just end so I could treat with one such as yourself..." A wet ripping sound was then heard followed by the screams of the Sandshew as Kadabra slowly and painfully ripped him apart with his mental strength, "Does no one else wish to foist upon me their grievances, No? Good." He said letting the now twisted and bloody body of the Sandshrew fall to the ground.

Both Arbok and Clefairy followed the psychic away from the group into their own private part of the forest. Both Pokemon looked at each other nervously as they trailed after him. Arbok was especially uneasy knowing full well the damage a psychic could do to a Pokemon.

"Fools all of them." Kadabra said.

Clefairy paused a moment before replying, "Maybe so but they do have a legitimate complaint, the food is star-" She said before being interrupted by the psychic.

"It was not the simpletons I referred to." He snapped looking back at her, "I was, in truth, not even able to talk to lord Ho-oh. The Alakazam in his service denied me an audience to him, and I was nearly forced away when I pushed the issue."

"Why would you need to sssee him anywaysss?" Arbok asked.

"When I had collected our ravenous new allies on my journey back I ran afoul of something horrible. A beast... no that is inaccurate... A beast implies something of natural origin, this was a monster." He said, Clefairy following his words with rapt attention, "A parasect growth gone beyond the realm of nature and into the twisted world of nightmares."

While Clefairy was hanging on his every word Arbok was less than enthralled, "Yesss, we get it, a big ssscary bug type. What doesss that have to do with your trip to Ho-oh." He asked

Kadabra shot him an irritated look, "I apparently do not have the necessary skills in grammar to give a proper description so one with your mental facilities could comprehend. Ho-oh needed to be informed of this creature's existence. But the change he has brought on this world has started to spiral out of control. He spends much of his time simply putting out fires, started by the change he bestowed upon us."

"So what are we going to do about that creature." Clefairy asked.

"It worries me to say but, nothing." Kadabra said, "Without the comfort of letting those with the strength to deal with such a creature know of it's existence we must take solace in the fact that it was moving away from our camp."

"Ignore the problem until it goesss away?" Arbok asked.

****"Indeed..."


	26. Chapter 26

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Sorry for the delay, writing two stories takes longer than I suspected...

August 27th

Team rocket base.

"But half the day is gone already Dawson." Lance said, walking behind the trainer as he approached Togekiss.

"I know but since we're actually planning on spending several days out in the wild it doesn't really matter when we leave. We'll be gone for days anyways." The trainer replied attaching a small bag to the harness on Togekiss.

"Still wouldn't it be better to try to get there during the day?" He asked moving round to the other side of the Pokemon to face Dawson.

"Perhaps but spending some extra time out in the wilderness isn't going to kill us." The trainer replied calmly.

"Did you forget what this world is like now, it very well might kill you if you're not careful!" The dragon trainer said.

Dawson let out an agonized sigh at his response, "Lance seriously stop worrying you'll end up in an early grave from all this stress." He said.

"And it'll be next to yours because you don't worry enough!" The dragon trainer shot back.

Before either one could continue the argument Togekiss fluttered her wings to either side shooing them away from her. In a bit of a huff she floated away towards Dragonair and Clair as they finished their preparations to leave. The gym leader welcomed Togekiss with a smile and soft petting around the head which seemed to mollify the Pokemon. This left both trainers facing each other as they resumed their argument.

"Really Lance eventually you're going to have to accept that we can't keep going out on scouting missions within a single day. Our search bubble has to expand otherwise we're never going to find anything." Dawson said.

"And what are we hoping to find? You saw Blackthorn and Mahogany, both of them were deserted wastes. You found one guy but he refused to join up with us, so I don't know about you but our track record for finding people isn't exactly stellar." Lance replied.

"So we should give up then?" Dawson asked.

"No, but it wouldn't hurt to start thinking about what we can do here. Joy and Rosemary can only do so much to keep these kids in line and you haven't even helped with trying to get the radio tower back online." He said.

"You seem to have things well in hand." Dawson replied.

"That's not the point." Lance said, "If we could get that done we wouldn't HAVE to go out and take our chances, we could hole up here and wait for someone to come rescue us."

"Just sit and wait?" Dawson said looking up at the sky while he mulled the worlds around in his head, "Yeah that sounds tedious, keep working on that tower though I think you're getting somewhere with it."

"Dammit, Dawson you can't just ignore my concerns like those of the children!" Lance shot back.

The trainer turned and headed over towards Clair seeing that she had finished her preparations, "Sure I can." He said walking away.

As he approached Clair he saw she had finished showering his Togekiss with affection and the Pokemon was now looking over at him expectantly. The trainer responded with some similar petting along her head and neck while giving a whispered apology. Satisfied with his apology Togekiss turned and floated over to Dragonair to enjoy the Pokemon's company.

"Seems like you and Lance are at odds again." Clair said as she stared down the sights of the shotgun she had claimed.

"Not so much at odds as him being a worry wort, one da- WHOA!" Dawson stepped to the side as Clair had shifted her stance to face him which resulted in the gun barrel pointing directly at his legs, "Gah! Careful Clair!" He said moving around to her side away from the barrel.

"What?" She asked.

"One of the first rules of gun safety is knowing where to point the thing when you're not using it. That means at the ground and away from people." He replied.

"What are you some sort of gun expert in addition to being an ace trainer, master camper, survivalist, and logistics expert?" She asked sarcastically pointing the gun towards the ground away from trainer and Pokemon.

"No... but I at least know the basic rules to firearm safety." He said stepping towards her and gently removing her finger from the trigger, "Rule number two is keeping the finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot."

"How many rules are there?" She asked with a hint of irritation at his attitude.

"Mostly I'm just going by the big three, the last of which is always keep it unloaded until you plan to use it." He said, "Unfortunately that one is a bit more tricky since I don't know how to load or unload it so we'll need to make a stop somewhere along the way to figure it out."

"Anything else?" Clair asked cocking her eyebrow at the trainer.

"More than likely but we've reached the end of my knowledge of the subject. Still I think the best thing you should keep in mind is 'be careful with that thing'. After all it's design and sole purpose is to kill things... I'd prefer if it was something trying to harm us rather than one of us." Dawson replied.

"I'll try to keep that in mind." She said before looking behind the trainer, "Better watch out, Nurse behind you..."

Turning around he was greeted to the sight of Joy approaching behind him. Before he could get out a greeting, his first after his long overdue rest, she flushed a shade of red and immediately looked down to the side. He was still trying to figure out what was going on when she reached out her hands and offered him a small wrapped bag.

"Uhh... thank you Joy?" He said taking the bag and looking at her with a confused expression.

"It's just... something you and Clair and eat for lunch. I... gottagomeetupwiththekids." She said finishing hurriedly before turning around and practically bolting for the door back into the base.

Left holding the bag Dawson wasn't sure what to make of what just happened until he heard a snickering, followed by laughter, behind him, "OK I take it from your amused expressions that you know what happened here?" Dawson said looking at Clair and Lance as they continued to laugh and snicker.

"Sorry Dawson..." Clair said trying to stifle her laughter, "But while you were taking your beauty sleep Joy was practically glued to your side. Not so bad so far... but when some of the kids caught her asleep by your side, well... just watching her walk on embarrassed eggshells from that point on was hilarious."

Dawson let out a sigh before turning to Togekiss, "You ready to go clair?" He asked climbing on his Pokemon.

"Wha? Yeah I guess... I just thought." She said before shaking her head, "No never mind I'm ready, let's get going."

Lance chose not to say anything as he watched the two head off into the sky. He wanted to go, especially when Clair refused to tell him what happened last time they went out, but knew the friction between him and Dawson would likely get them seriously hurt or killed. Just waiting for them to return, while feeling useless all the while, was what really got to him. He turned and headed back towards the base his feelings of dejection and depression making his mood sour somewhat.

The two trainers flew through the air leaving the rocket base behind them, the building growing smaller and smaller until it dipped behind the trees and was lost from sight. Dawson's eyes were glued to the compass he held out in front of him. Clair followed behind him for a ways before nudging Dragonair to move along side him.

"So what was that about?" She asked over the wind.

"What was what about?" Dawson replied.

"The sudden leaving. Something started to bug you, and don't try to deny it." She said.

"Because you're good at reading people." He said rolling his eyes, "It's not important overall, don't worry about it."

"Oh no that excuse won't fly here." Clair said, "If it wasn't important you wouldn't be trying to avoid the issue."

"Dammit Clair..." He said with a sigh.

"You're not getting away with not telling me so just deal with it." She said.

"Fine, when we land to test the gun out I'll tell you what's bugging me." He said.

It didn't take the two long to find a suitable clearing to work in. As much as Clair tried to get Dawson to explain what was bothering him he was tight lipped as he grabbed tree branches from the forest to use as targets. In the end she settled for waiting until after the gun training.

Both trainers looked over the gun each as they set about figuring out the mechanisms of the device before firing it. A pump action type neither of them were familiar with the design or the shotgun in general. All either of them could assume was that it wasn't like any the police used therefore it must have been for hunting or sporting.

Clair was the first to try out shooting it. A decision that came about when she brought up what she had to go through to get it. Not wishing to cause an argument over it Dawson put up his hands in surrender and let her take the shot first.

"You might want to consider bracing it against your shoulder." He said as she tried lining up a shot.

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

"Well it's a gun right? You're, in effect, using a controlled explosion to launch a set of pellets in an attempt to kill something. I don't know if you know but explosions have a lot of force to them. Bracing it will at least prevent it from flying out of your hands when you fire it." He said.

"I know about recoil Dawson." Clair said taking aim with the shotgun.

Covering his ears and rolling his eyes he waited for Clair to fire. With an echoing bang she pulled the trigger and felt the recoil push the gun into her shoulder. She had to take a step back to avoid falling from the kickback almost knock her over. The results of her shot spoke for itself as one of the branches they used for targeting exploded into splinters from the shot.

"Wow, color me impressed Clair, that was a surprisingly good shot." Dawson said looking down the impromptu firing range.

"You want your turn now?" She asked pointing the gun down and rubbing her shoulder.

"Might as well." He said taking the gun from her, "Since you're the one with all the experience now, any advice?"

"You might want to consider bracing it against your shoulder." Clair said stepping back to give him some room.

"Why thank you miss smart ass." Dawson said hoisting the gun up and taking aim.

He was surprised by weight of the weapon, having had no chance to hold it before, but held it against his shoulder and pulled the trigger. The second shot rang out and Dawson was rewarded with the sight of a lump of dirt flying into the air. He couldn't help but feel annoyed at his aim.

"You missed." Clair said looking over at the section of ground.

"Nothing gets by you I see..." Dawson said looking over at her.

"So do we take turns shooting until we get good at it?" She asked stepping forward.

"Nope, I figure we don't have a reliable source of ammo for this thing so we stick with the person we know can shoot the gun. That and you got the gun, you get to use it. I figure since he tried to rape you, you get his stuff as a form of compensation or something." He said handing the gun back over to her.

"How nice." She said with ice in her voice.

"Hey if you're going to get mad at least finish out the ammo in there. I want that gun to be empty when we try to take it apart." He replied to her.

"We're taking it apart? That seems risky, what if we can't put it back together?" She asked.

"If we're not smart enough to put it back together we're not smart enough to be using the damn thing." Dawson replied, "Besides we need to know how this thing operates if we're going to be able to clean it and make sure it's properly maintained. Without maintenance that thing will likely be useless after a week or so."

"Do we even have the right stuff to clean it?" Clair asked.

"Unlikely, but making due will probably be better than just leaving it to the elements." Dawson said watching her line up another shot.

* * *

><p><strong>Rocket base.<strong>

Lance sat at the workbench holding some of the odd tools Dawson had been using to fashion his weapons. Most were made from the leaves of Torterra's attack. Hilts added to the leafs to give him something to work with. It was an effective means of getting a razor sharp edged tool that could be easily replaced with a simple attack command.

Dragonite watched behind him with a curious eye as the once member of the elite four worked with the various tools left behind. Since the tower had been raised he hadn't has much to do. His Gyarados friend had grown distant, with the company of another member of his species that was understandable, and with Dragonair off with Clair Dragonite had no real familiar company beyond his trainer. Letting out a soft yelp he tried to get his trainer to take a break from his work.

Looking up at his Pokemon Lance smiled and patted the dragon's nose, "Hey buddy, think I'm working too hard on this?" He asked, getting a nod in return, "Yeah you're probably right, I think a break is in order don't you? C'mon lets go flying for a bit, stretch your wings a bit."

They both headed outside into the afternoon air, stretching as they left the rocket building. Watching Dragonite do some warm up exercises Lance let the cool air blow across him as he waited for the dragon to ready himself. He wasn't sure if it was the calming air around him or the relaxation he was feeling for the first time in days but when he heard a voice behind him he felt his heart leap in his chest and himself leap into the air.

"Are you going flying?" The voice asked as he turned around and grabbing his chest in shock.

"Gah! LISA, jeeze you really sneak up on people don't you?" He asked feeling his heartbeat in his chest.

"Sorry..." She said.

"So... yeah I'm going flying with Dragonite." He said looking over at his Pokemon as it finished its warm up.

"Can I come?" She asked.

"Yeah... sure I guess, it's not going to be anything amazing just us gliding up there to loosen up." He replied hoping to deter her.

"That's fine." She said

"OK then..." The dragon trainer replied feeling the awkwardness of the conversation, "So why aren't you with the other kids collecting fruit or whatever they found?" He asked generally curious to why she remained behind.

"I don't get along with them." She said heading over to Dragonite.

"Ahh, why is that?" He asked helping her climb onto the back of the Pokemon.

"They think I'm weird." She said.

"Is that all?" Lance said climbing on behind her, "That hardly seems like a reason."

"It's been... better recently." She said letting her hands feel the scaly back of the dragon.

"Well the end of the world will do that to people." Lance said sadly.

"Hey Lance hold up, hold up! Wait a second!" Eric said rushing out of the rocket base when he saw the dragon trainer get ready to liftoff.

"Hold up Dragonite, what is it Eric?" He asked.

"We got it working!" The mechanic said.

"What the radio tower? That was fast." Lance replied.

"No... well not exactly, we got the bases computers back online! Now the radio tower is still kinda borked, we can receive but not send at the moment, but that's not the best part!" He said with excitement in his voice.

"There's more?" Lance asked.

"Once the computers booted back up they started running on their own, apparently there was a worldwide recall for team Rocket or something. Once we get the radio tower to start sending signals we can possibly contact them, maybe get some help out here!" He said.

"Team rocket... I don't know, I haven't met a Rocket member that I haven't come to blows with." Lance said remembering what they had done in this very facility and others like it.

"But... do we have a choice in the matter? We can't readily survive out here forever." Eric said.

Lance paused in thought for a moment, "Tell you what Eric, we'll wait until Dawson and Clair come back from their venture and we'll discuss it with the group." He said while tapping Dragonite's side signaling his readiness to takeoff..

As the dust formed around the dragons takeoff Eric took a few steps back to avoid the grit. "Alright... bit it seems like we're taking a bigger risk the longer we put off calling for help." He said to himself as he watched Lance fly away.

* * *

><p><strong>Steel plant, somewhere in Johto<strong>

"So what's the plan of approach?" Clair asked over the wind as she and her Dragonair circled around the facility along with Dawson and Togekiss.

"None yet, we're just surveying at the moment." He replied.

The facility was large to say the least. Their first circle around the perimeter had taken the better part of five minutes. The steel plant itself wasn't very large but the entire operation short of the actual mining was done on site. This meant that the place had to have processing plants, refineries, and even living quarters for the staff alongside office buildings for the cooperation. For someone like Clair it was something she hadn't encountered before.

"So we're not going in?" She asked again.

"Not today, not enough light to do anything of note, we're going to park about a mile out and set up camp near a stream I saw." He replied.

"Then what was the point of the fly around?" Clair said following Togekiss as she banked to towards the nearby forest.

"Get a feel for how the place is laid out, figure out if anyone is alive down there, avoid any messy traps or scary Pokemon." He replied sliding off Togekiss as the Pokemon reached the ground by the stream, "Survival is about intelligence and caution. If you go into anything half cocked and figuring things out as you go you're going to end up regretting it."

"So have you figure out how we're going to go about this tomorrow then?" She asked hopping off Dragonair

The two trainers took off several of the packs their Pokemon were carrying before letting them both chose their own spot to rest.

"Kinda," He said starting to unpack the sleeping supplies, "Man life is so much easier when I'm not carrying stuff for half a dozen children..."

"Now you just have to take care of a woman who has her own personal dragon." Clair said with a chuckle.

"You know that would be reassuring if your Dragonair actually had a mouth, and it's evolved form had teeth, and the scariest thing out there couldn't freeze entire towns solid, and it wasn't your only Pok-" Dawson said.

"Alright alright I get it already." Clair replied rolling her eyes at the trainer, "Can't let anything get by you can you?"

"Nope, I traveled alone for far too long to give up my smart ass nature so easily." He replied, "Anyways I think it's best we approach this place carefully."

"Why? Beyond the obvious reasons of dangerous Pokemon." She asked.

"Well as you saw there were no people at all, actually more accurately it would be no bodies of the people." He said.

"But there was blood, I saw dozens of red patches on the ground at that place." Clair said.

"Right, which means something killed all the workers, or at least all the ones who couldn't get away." He said, "And more importantly did something with their bodies. A place like this could have thousands of workers on site even during a slow shift. That's a lot of work for anyone which means it's likely we have a nest of Pokemon inside, Pokemon that like collecting and possibly eating humans."

"How pleasant. If there are more than a few we might have issues getting anything of use out of this place." Clair said looking over at Togekiss and Dragonair.

"Well I brought Luxray and Gyarados with me this time so we have some firepower to spare, I'm more worried about the more...esoteric... Pokemon we might run into." Dawson replied.

"Esoteric?" She asked.

"Yes. In a straight up slugging match I'd bet on our Pokemon every time. But when Rapidash got poisoned, and myself as well, back before we met your group it showed me how the elemental issues have changed." He said bringing a hand up to his shoulder.

"Wait, you lost me. I know that our Pokemon are more powerful now but I'm still pretty sure fire, lightning, and energy beams still rank at the top of the list for power." She said.

"And in a technical aspect you'd be right, it's better to kill then wound in this case. Rapidash's poisoning, however, showed me that while a wound from a lightning bolt can be healed a poison attack can be worse in almost every way." Dawson said thinking back to the ambush on the road, "A straight up wound can be healed but poison can't be so easily remedied, now so more than ever, and if you're wounded from poison you're out of commission almost entirely. Then there's the fact that your allies are now struggling to maintain your health as well as trying to get away or finishing the battle."

"OK so poison types require a bit more care than others." She said.

"It's more than that Clair. Psychics, Ghosts, fighting and who knows what else. Things have changed and I think we're the forerunners on a whole new style of battling." He said.

"If it didn't involve so much death I'd almost be excited to learn." She replied.

"Yeah, as mentally terrifying as this whole thing is, I'm starting to enjoy myself." Dawson said with a grin, "I mean it's exciting in a way to see who comes out of this crucible humanity found ourselves in..."

* * *

><p><strong>Forest near the Rocket Base<strong>

"Comeon guys, hurry it up already." Steven said leading the group of children down the path back to the base.

After several days of collecting fruit from the orchard they had managed to wear a noticeable path in the woods. Without having to navigate to and from the rocket base the children often found themselves with more time to gather and less time traveling. This meant that, with a bit of forceful prodding from Steven, they could expand their foraging region.

Rosemary objected as the young man expected, but dealing with her had become almost routine for Steven. He prayed upon her own insecurities and the idea that what the group wanted was the best course of action. This allowed him, after persuading others, to force group votes and often overruling her.

It was after one of the more expansive foraging sessions that the group was returning from currently. Not as successful as yesterdays but with the berries, fruits and other things they had collected the group was eating better and no longer relying on their store of nonperishable foods. Anything not cooked immediately was put into cases and frozen with one of the dragon Pokemon's ice attacks.

"Steven we're not all as fast as you!" Michele said walking next to one of the Ponyta.

One concession he had to agree to was the added presence of both adults and Pokemon during the trip. The group was escorted by the three Flaffy, who enjoyed their jaunts as it allowed them to graze fresh grass without having to compete with the main herd, and at least one of the trainer's Pokemon. In this case, and many before it, it was Gardevoir.

The Pokemon, regardless of their status as guards, still had to help out during the trip. Gardevoir and the two Ponyta would often carry the spare packs filled with the fruits of their labor. The Flaffy would provide light and often something to stand on to let the kids reach the bottom branches of the trees.

"We'll all get back to the rocket base well before dark Steven, there's no need to rush." Joy said as she caught up to the boy.

The children and adults continued to argue as dozens of eyes watched from the woods around them. Clefairy and Arbok waited for the cue to attack from Kadabra staying silent and still as the group moved closer and closer to the ambush point. They had very specific roles to fill in the upcoming ambush, although Clefairy was starting to have doubts.

She always despised humans, normally carefree and cheerful her temperament had been soured long ago by the incessant attempts at capture by the trainers that roamed the wilds. This caused her to be ostracized by her own kind eventually leaving before their reputation soured to the point of violence. She had taken to Kadabra when she left, back then he was simply an Abra, due to their similar attitude towards the humans never ending efforts at caging them.

She hated humans and wanted nothing to do with them. Yet here she was waiting on her cue to attack them and not only other trainers but children. She kept trying to rationalize the impending violence away figuring the children would one day become just as bad as the trainers or that they're better off dead than fighting in this terrible new world. Yet in the end she couldn't help but feel, deep down inside, that this was an evil act.

Her moment of introspection was what caused her to miss the mental cue from Kadabra entirely as the woods around the human group suddenly burst to life and chaos. She knew the plan and what was supposed to happen but the sudden movement from Arbok and the ensuing sounds of combat caused her to pause. It was that or her own doubts but she couldn't tell as she tried to catch up with the others and regain her place in the attack.

Kadabra tasked himself with stalling Gardevoir as he attacked her mind, forcing her into a battle of wills while the rest of his army went to work. The many Pokemon from Sandslash's and Arbok's crew went to work distracting the Mareep and Ponyta drawing the fire while launching their own attacks aimed at keeping the heads of the humans down. It was Arbok and Clefairy who were tasked with the morbid task of dealing death.

She tried to catch up with Arbok, but found each step dragging behind her. She wanted to please Kadabra and punish the humans for never leaving her alone but she just couldn't truthfully justify the murder of the children. She could only watch from the bushes as Arbok slid through the entire group towards the kids.

From what she imagined they viewed as 'nowhere' Arbok reared up and flared out his serpent stripes in front of the now clustered group. The strategy they had always used to keep safe suddenly working against them as spray of acid from the Poison Pokemon's mouth flew towards the children completely covering one and clipping another. Clefairy watched as the girl let out a scream and collapsed to the ground and the boy fell to the side trying to roll away from the acid and new adversary.

The response from the group as a whole was extraordinary from what Clefairy saw. Gardevoir, seeing Arbok attack the children, likely forced back Kadabras mind with such energy Clefairy cringed at the thought. She watched as Gardevoir whirled around and launched a barrage of blue energy balls at the Poison Pokemon. The Mareep as well re-oriented and launched bolts of lightning at him. The Psyshock and Lightning attacks, however, never found their target as Arbok had turned and ran at the first sign of retaliation.

He slid past Clefairy like liquid metal and disappeared deeper into the forest. She saw the disgusted look he shot her as she turned and followed suit along with the rest of the attacking Pokemon. In just under a minute the attack had began and ended leaving the human group scrambling to summon healing Pokemon in attempt to save the people wounded during the fight.

_'Clefairy'_ She heard in her mind as she ran to catch up with Arbok, _'We need to talk.'_

_'Yes Kadabra.'_ She mentally thought back.

Her thoughts were sad from disappointing him. Or from the deaths they had a hand in, she was having a hard time telling.


	27. Chapter 27

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 27th

Team rocket base

"Get Steven to the shore Gardevoir, Rosemary take the children inside. Chansey!" Joy summoned her Pokemon with a flash of light as everyone rushed towards the base.

Gardevoir was currently carrying Steven in her arms, her mind occupied with keeping the boy's mind from succumbing to shock. She followed Joy's order with an urgent fear as she could see the remaining acidic ooze burn it's way up the young boy's arm. Chansey and Joy moved along side her as she reached the water. Joy's Pokemon didn't need any prompting in creating large white sphere from her softboiled move.

Gardevoir and Joy both helped the boy into the sphere as the Pokemon let her mental powers to address the other Pokemon at the base, "Torterra wake up, we need the perimeter guarded, Dragonite I don't care what you're doing get back here and stand guard with Torterra, Gyarados patrol around the lake, KILL anything that tries to get close." She mentally commanded.

"What's going on Gardevoir?" Torterra asked nervously moving towards them.

"Don't question! JUST GO!" Gardevoir snapped as she went back to tending to steven's still form.

"Oh my God he's hurt so badly. Chansey keep up with Softboiled, Gardevoir Healing pulse, I'll work to wash away the poison." Joy said ripping off a large part of her nurse apron and dousing it in the water.

She could see Gardevoir go to work with a frantic fear filled expression on her face. The glowing egg took on a pink hue as the two Pokemon combined their powers to stabilize the child. Joy was relieved that Steven hadn't died outright but her relief was soured by the thought of May being left behind. Unable to do anything for her they had to run back to base, terrified of another attack and Steven dying.

Steeling herself she reached into the large white egg where the boy floated. As she put her head inside she could feel the warm energies around her. Normally the healing was a gentle warmth, like putting on a sweater as it just got out of the dryer. Now it was an almost suffocating heat, like standing out in the sun on a hot summer day, as both Pokemon worked frantically to stop the damage caused by the remaining acid on Steven's arm.

Reaching over the wound she took the ripped cloth and slowly twisted it. Letting a small stream of water fall on the wound. The results were immediate as she could hear the hiss of the water hitting the poison and, she hoped, washing it away.

She lost track of time as she carefully washed away the damage. Eventually Steven's face no longer contorted in pain and began to relax. It was when she felt Gardevoir's hand on her shoulder that she let out a sigh of relief and stepped back to let the Pokemon finish the work.

Stepping out of the sphere from Chansey's Softboiled she felt the real world hit her like a wave.

No longer within the warm and inviting sphere she stood knee deep in water, soaked from standing in it so long, and he body immediately began to shiver as the cold air of the night surrounded walked to the shore of the lake, getting out of the water and onto the small beach along the shore, and sat down quietly. She had done all she could for Steven, but now she had leave it to the Pokemon. Whatever resentment she might have felt earlier about being useless compared to the Pokemon was buried under the massive amount of relief she felt. Even with the proper equipment it would have been a very slim chance Steven would have lived.

She felt the shivers take over again and she wrapped her arms about herself. She wanted to go inside where it was likely warmer but couldn't in good conscience do so while her Pokemon worked. When a blanket was draped over her shoulders, courtesy of Lance who had come outside, she was thankful for the extra warmth that allowed her to remain in her vigil.

The dragon trainer sat down next to the nurse and watched the two Pokemon work, "How is he?" He asked softly.

"Weak... injured... b-but I think he'll live. I hope he'll live." She replied clutching the blanket tighter around herself, "How are the others?"

"Scared. Rosemary is taking care of the children, they're a mess right now, and it seems like every Pokemon is standing on edge from that attack." Lance said, "They attacked us. It wasn't like Blackthorn where Suicune just attacked and hunted us... this was an ambush... they planned this."

Forest

"Clefairy... Before I decide anything I want you, in your own words, to tell me just why you failed to fulfill my orders." Kadabra said facing away from the shamed Pokemon.

The rest of the small army they had gathered was currently away foraging for food. He had even dismissed Arbok despite his hissing protests. It was just Clefairy and Kadabra and the former couldn't even make eye contact with the latter's back.

"I... I just couldn't. I can understand killing in defense or the adults because they're the ones who tormented us but these children have done nothing. Should they be punished for something outside their control?" Clefairy said, "I know we're fighting a war and that these trainers hunted us mercilessly but... I don't want to lose myself to this violence, this slaughter."

Her words hung in the air for several long moments before she heard Kadabra let out a soft sigh, "You are a kind Pokemon," He turned around and faced Clefairy, " but I have no use for a

Pokemon who cannot follow orders. We traveled together for a long time before Ho-oh's blessing allowed us to fight back, but now we must part ways. If you are not fully committed to our cause then you cannot help it. Any of the legendaries would demand your death in response for this."

He heard Clefairy suck in a breath at his words, "I, however, am not a legendary. Because of our past I will simply say, leave. Leave now and don't come back. Perhaps if fate is kind we will meet again once humanity has been wiped out."

Clefairy could only wordlessly nod. She turned and walked away, her spirit far too weighed down to travel by hopping. Twice now she had to leave what she had thought were kindred spirits and deep down inside a fear grew that she would always be alone now.

Rocket Base

The children sat at the table in the center of the bedroom. A single light lit the room, Lance had decided it was safer to keep the base in the dark rather than attract more Pokemon. It had been almost an hour since the attack and many of them had no more tears left. They had cried almost non stop but now they were worn down and could only sit at the table staring blankly ahead of them.

Rosemary had tried to calm the children but nothing she did affected them that much. Eric stood at the door, keeping watch for Lance and the others as well as any Pokemon that might somehow find their way inside. Rosemary resolved herself to keeping the children in one place and doing her best to keep them calm. Only when she saw a growing purple light down the corridor did she move from the children's side to greet Lance and Joy as they approached with Chansey and Gardevoir.

"Is he...?" She asked, the question hanging in the air.

"He'll live... but the arm is gone, he'll never get it back." Lance replied watching as Gardevoir took the boy to one of the beds.

"Oh my God... to lose your arm." Rosemary said, "What happened? It was so peaceful for so long."

"I think this is our punishment for getting complacent." Lance said.

"What? How can tha-" Rosemary began before pausing, "What is Gardevoir doing?" She asked looking over at the psychic Pokemon as she sat at the head of the table.

Gardevoir had her eyes closed as the rest of the children sat around the table. Many of them were still in shock but the glassy eyed stare they were giving off now was different than the one Rosemary had seen before. She wasn't a Pokemon trainer, or even had a job that involved them in any way, but she could tell when a psychic was using it's power. It helped that Gardevoir had wisps of purple energy seeping off her.

"Is she... is she doing something to the children?" She asked with growing concern.

"I think she's using her psychic powers on them." Lance said.

Joy felt herself shrink down as she realized Gardevoir was using calm mind on them again. She wanted to say something to tell them what was going on but she also wanted to avoid getting yelled at by everyone as well. She didn't have to agonize long as Rosemary, shocked at the Pokemon's actions, stepped forwards confronting the psychic.

"What are you doing? You can't go using your powers on children!" She said walking around the table to Gardevoir.

She reached over and grabbed the Pokemon's shoulder roughly to try and break her hold over them. All she succeeded in doing was causing Gardevoir's head to turn and ending up on the receiving end of a hypnosis attack. Everyone saw he slump backwards but Eric was the only one with enough foresight to rush over to her to stop her from hitting the floor. Chansey followed suit taking Rosemary dutifully and placing her on one of the beds.

Lance could only watch in shock as Gardevoir went back to tending to the children with her psychic powers, "What... we can't just-" His sentence was cut off as Joy tugged on his sleeve.

"Lance... I... just leave her alone." Joy said looking away, refusing to make eye contact.

"Joy, What's going on?" He asked his voice stern.

Eric looked back and forth between the two wondering what was going on. He was outside of his element and completely at a loss as to what was going on. His thoughts were interrupted when he realized he was still standing next to Gardevoir and moved away as if he had been shocked.

"I... please don't be angry Lance... it's something Gardevoir has done before." She said.

"What?" Both lance and Eric replied looking aghast at her.

"It's... well Dawson is better at explaining it than me but... I think she uses Calm mind to calm the children down and affect their memory at the same time." She said, "It was done last time when their parents died which is why they're so well adjusted to this world."

"That's..." Lance began but found himself at a loss for words.

"Is it safe?" Eric asked feeling more out of depth than ever.

"I don't know, I think so but I can't really be sure." Joy replied.

"You know, it kinda is just our luck we have to deal with this when Dawson isn't around." Lance said with an annoyed tone, "At least we could hold him accountable for anything that might go wrong with this..."

"I- I don't think Gardevoir is doing anything malicious..." Joy said, "She... well she has kinda put herself in the parent position for the children. I don't think she'd do something that would ever put them in danger."

"Playing knots with their minds and memories certainly doesn't seem safe." Eric said.

"Well, I know it seems bad, but ever since this all started Pokemon have gotten stronger and more powerful. Maybe this is one of the benefits of it?" Joy said struggling to justify Gardevoir's action.

"Benefits?" Lance said raising an eyebrow at her.

"Like... Like how they can heal humans now, or that they're faster and stronger. I don't know... It's just... I've traveled from Agricola with her and I trust her. If I didn't I would have done anything I could have to stop her." Joy said, "Not that there's much I could have done..." She added.

Lance looked over at Rosemary who was still sleeping on the nearby bed, "To be fair, Joy I don't think any of us could have done much to stop her. Which kinda worries me more than another attack."

The three let the conversation drop as they watched Gardevoir attend to the children. The Pokemon hadn't acknowledged their presence once while they were talking about her. Wisps of psychic aura floating away from her body was the only indication that she was doing anything at all.

Once finished with her task Gardevoir gave the others a look that said she was going to take care of things as she headed outside to stand guard. The adults, having nothing better to do, took the dazed children and tucked them into their beds. Joy was especially careful of Steven, Chansey standing by in case something happened while she tended to the wounded boy in his bed.

Outside

"Gardevoir you OK?" Torterra asked as he approached his companion.

"Yes Torterra. I was uninjured in the battle." She replied mentally, keeping watch over as much of the area as she could.

She could feel the presence of a few Pokemon in the forest, the ones that had started to move back after so many years, and Lance's Gyarados in the water. Along with Torterra and the other Agricola Pokemon she could keep tabs on anything that got close to the Rocket base. This combined with future sight kept her distracted and unaware that Torterra had asked another question.

"Garde?" He said trying to get her attention.

"Don't call me that. What was it you asked I have to keep watch in case those Pokemon attack again." She said a little more curtly then she would have liked.

"Well... I was just asking if you were OK." He said.

"I had already answered that Torterra." She replied.

"Well you said you were unharmed... but I asked if you were OK? I mean one of the kids died, didn't they? And that Steven kid lost his arm. I wouldn't worry about others dealing with this but... well you're you." He said.

"And what is that supposed to mean." She asked looking over at him, her eyes narrowing.

"You're really attached to the kids!" The ground Pokemon amended quickly, "You kinda became their mom didn't you? That's what it looked like to me at least."

"Yes I did take responsibility for the children. I failed in the forest because I got careless, that won't happen again." She replied.

"But are you OK?" Torterra pressed.

She paused and considered his question for a moment before replying, "I will not let the death of May and Steven's wound affect my judgment. I will be OK, as you put it." She said.

Torterra wasn't convinced. He knew, however, that he couldn't press the issue. All he could do is his best while standing guard and hope Gardevoir wouldn't do something extreme in her protection of the children.

The psychic watched as her traveling companion walked away. She could tell he was clearly upset with her but he was kind enough not to show it. If he could have managed it he would have been inside with the children, calming them in his own way by his very presence.

Gardevoir would have very much preferred not going into the children's minds, forcing them to calm down rather than letting them calm down themselves. The attack on their way back had forced her hand. A group of Pokemon, some of them from when they had been fleeing Agricola, had ambushed them. That indicated intelligence and organization, and that meant a leader.

As if by providence she felt a tug at the edges of her mental scanning range. She sensed a psychic, and a powerful one at that. Without explaining herself to Torterra or the adults she vanished in a flash of light teleporting to the psychic's area to confront whoever it was.

For Gardevoir it was less than a second to traverse the forest and appear before what had entered her mental field. She quickly glanced around getting a scope of the field before drawing up her psychic powers and readying herself for battle. Her future sight indicated no battle but she felt paranoid after the ambush and wasn't leaving anything to chance.

She realized it was a fairly sparse field where she had teleported to. This meant two things to her. One was that she could clearly see her opponent despite the darkness. The second was if it came down to a battle it would be purely on the skills and power of her and her opponent. No tricky maneuvers or strategies, just a straight up competition between psychics.

"Calm yourself fellow psychic, I have not come to battle today." Kadabra said.

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you attacked those children." Gardevoir shot back.

"A lamentable task, but one which had to be done for your benefit." He replied.

"Benefit!? How could the murder of children benefit me!" She said, her psychic aura flaring in anger.

"Because you need to know the stakes..." Kadabra said, "If I had not attacked then it would have been with the entirety of my force. Make no mistake, you and yours would have been killed to the last man, woman, child, and Pokemon."

Gardevoir paused, she was ready to kill this psychic for what he had done but his words concerned her, "What do you mean?" She asked drawing back some of her power.

"I mean to tell you that your trainer, his associates, and any Pokemon that follow him are going to be killed by my army and I. You have little to fear at the moment though, I am here to offer you a bargain." He said.

Every fiber in her body screamed at her to attack and end this now, but a nagging doubt stayed her hand, "What bargain?" She asked.

"A simple one. You, one night from now, take those children and leave. Head back to Agricola or your own private refuge, I care not, but you and those human children never step near any city or interact with any humans ever again. You live in obscurity till the end of your days." He said fixing her with a steely gaze.

"Why offer me this?" She asked.

"Two reasons." Kadabra replied, "The first being as a fellow psychic I feel a certain... obligation... to fellow members of our element. The second being the ease in which you are dealt with. I could fight you, but it is simply easier to offer you a way out in the hopes that you take it. Either way the choice is yours. Until tomorrow night."

With that Kadabra vanished in a flash of light, leaving Gardevoir alone to ponder the offer.

Forest

Clefairy slowly walked through the dark forest. Her mood was far too depressed to travel by hopping and her eyesight wasn't good enough to allow it anyways. The moonless night didn't help her much either making her just shy of blind.

She had left almost immediately after Kadabra had confronted her. In a way she was relieved that he let her go without any issue. In another way she was completely depressed by it and her overestimation of how much she meant to Kadabra. She had hoped to stay with him through all of this but now had to deal with the harsh reality of being cast out yet again.

As Clefairy continued along she began to feel a prickling in her wings. She learned long ago that it only felt like that when someone was trying to sneak up on her. Many Clefairy had similar warning systems that they used to alert them to approaching Pokemon or trainers.

She continued along her way acting casual to avoid alerting her pursuer to the fact that she knew they were there. Walking around a tree she leaped to it's other side and turned to face behind her. Pointing out a finger she let loose with a gravity attack crushing the area behind her. Trees, leaves, and dirt all compacted down leaving a perfect circle impact in the ground where she aimed.

Dark as it was she could still see the impact crater and the lack of anything inside that could have been something. The prickling in her wings was still there so she didn't relax just yet. The warning was of little use to her, however, as she turned around right into the gaze of Arbok.

She felt her body stiffen as Arbok's glare paralyzed her on the spot. She tried to fight it off as the snake Pokemon slid down the tree he had climbed into to avoid her attack. Slowly, despite her best efforts to move, Arbok began to slide around her, wrapping Clefairy with his body.

"Poor little Clefairy... Lossst and alone out in the ssscary woodsss. You bessst be careful, otherwissse you might get attacked by sssome mean Pokemon." He taunted sliding tighter around her, "You couldn't ssstomach the killing which means Kadabra couldn't ssstomach you. How ironic. I've never had a Clefairy as a meal before, I wonder what you tassste like?"

Clefariy felt tears start to well up in her eyes as Arbok tightened his grip. She knew she was going to die and all because she wouldn't kill someone else. Even then she knew the feeling of betrayal, that Kadabra would allow Arbok to finish her off like this, hurt her more than the slow digestion inside the Pokemon's body. Arbok opened his fangs, his saliva dripping down on his prey, ready to enjoy his first live meal in ages.

Suddenly he stopped and pulled back, the forest around him rustling with movement of dozens of creatures. He let out an irritated hiss at the darkness for interrupting his meal, the darkness responded with a long and deep howl that pierced the night.

"You'll have to find your meal elsewhere snake." The Mightyena alpha said stepping out of the shadows.

"Find your own food dog! Thisss one is mine!" Arbok hissed back.

"I think not." He said.

From behind the Poison Pokemon several Mightyena emerged from the darkness raking their claws and fangs along Arboks back and sides. By the time the poison Pokemon turned to retaliate they had broken off their attack and vanished back into the darkness. He turned to face the alpha who hadn't moved from the spot.

"You are outnumbered, weighed down, wounded, and fighting in our element. Be grateful I'm even giving you a chance to run." The Alpha said staring down his opponent.

"Take the damnable failure then!" He hissed back flinging Clefairy at the Mightyena as a last insult before sliding back towards Kadabra's army, "Live in fear fairy bitch! All this meansss isss I kill your psychic first!" He shouted back as he fled into the night.

Clefairy felt herself hit the ground as the Alpha stepped out of the way. Without Arbok maintaining the paralysis she felt her limbs loosening up once again. Looking up she was met with the scarred face of the Mightyena and couldn't help but feel like she made it out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"We have much to talk about, you and I..." He said as two other Mightyena stepped out of the shadows to flank him, "About the actions of your Psychic friend and the humans he plans to kill."


	28. Chapter 28

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Sorry about the delay, I was spending my time working on a NaNoWriMo story which occupied my time. I'll be posting it up what I've managed to do once I'm done proof reading it.

August 28th

Steel Plant

Dust had gathered for a long time now inside the plant's main steel refinery. With no humans around due to the catastrophe and no Pokemon around due to the lack of any food the steel plant hadn't seen nearly enough activity to stop the dust from gathering. The fires of the plant's furnaces had long since gone out and would likely never be started again. Lights that once illuminated the interior and exterior hadn't had a single volt of electricity for days.

Since the majority of humans in the region had either fled or been killed many of the Pokemon had also left. Some due to the lack of food, some for fear of reprisals for staying near human 'things', some because they just wanted to leave. The end results was many human areas, without power or other amenities that Pokemon enjoyed, were ghost towns with little to no life in them.

If anything was left in the refinery it would have likely jumped as a sudden and loud bang echoed throughout the building. It was followed by another then another before a stream of light shot across the building interior. The door before Dawson and Clair fell to the ground with a clank and the two stood at the threshold looking inward.

"Couldn't you have just had Luxray blast down the door?" Clair asked as she watched the trainer rub his shoulder.

"Thought this would be quieter…" Dawson said knowing after the fact that his method wasn't much better.

Clair refrained from commented about the obvious and followed Dawson into the facility. Their steps left footprints behind them in the dust of the building. Before them the shadowy interior seemed to melt together with the darkness making it impossible to see more than fifty feet inside.

"Luxray can you give us some light?" Clair asked.

A few sparks jumped from the electric Pokemon's fur before her entire body began to glow with a pale yellow light. Clair smiled and ran a hand through Luxray's mane and gave her a gentle scratch along her back in appreciation. A strong purr was Clair's reward for the back scratch.

"Huh never was able to get a purr like that from her." Dawson said.

"Really? Thats surprising. You seem to get along so well with them." Clair said.

Guided by the light of Luxray's aura they moved past conveyor belts and machines of various sizes and shapes. Much of the building was still in good shape having been built to stand in all sorts of weather. They had chosen this section due to the ground level door and it's proximity to the edge of the plants grounds. From here they could move throughout the entire facility through the various linked bridges and interconnected walkways.

"I get along with them well enough… I guess. I mean it's not like I ever got mad at them or vice versa. Its just…" Dawson said.

"Just what?" Clair asked.

"Well I'd always see those champion trainers on the television at the Pokemon centers. They always talked about how it was due to their friendship with their Pokemon that allowed them to get that far and all sorts of crap like that." Dawson said, "And look at my own Pokemon and wonder what the hell they're going on about."

"I don't follow." Clair said.

The three approached one of the connecting hallways between the two buildings, "It's just… ahh I don't know how to put it into words." He said with a sigh, "Maybe I'm regressing to my previous personality due to this whole thing we're dealing with."

"Honestly it sounds like you're just thinking about it far too much. No one has the same relationship with their Pokemon as anyone else. If you and yours are happy then thats all you need." Clair said.

"Jeeze you get that from a self help book?" Dawson asked sarcastically.

"No it's part of the Gym leader handbook they give you when you start a gym." Clair said rolling her eyes, "I always thought of most of it as just pandering crap."

"Well that makes two of us." Dawson said.

"So what are we looking for here?" Clair asked as they continued on their way, "I don't think we really need raw steel or whatever they make here."

"We're currently looking for the main living quarters area which should be connected to the main plant at some point. These places are designed to be self contained so we'll be able to find food, medicine, and other supplies to help our own situation become more self sufficient." Dawson said, "I also visited here once before and one of the guys at the plant had his own farm, unauthorized of course, and hopefully he'll have some of the seeds stored in his room."

"You think we're going to be out here long enough for farming?" Clair asked.

"Hopefully no…" Dawson replied, "But it doesn't pay not to plan for it."

As the two reached the end of the connecting hallways they looked about at the darkened room before them. Light trickled through the windows revealing much of the inside. It looked to be a cafeteria with several tables and chairs set up in group. Along one of the walls was a built in kitchen that looked promising to the two trainers. Stairways lead up to higher levels in the building and each wall had it's own branching path for the interconnected buildings.

"This looks like a good place to set up a base camp." He said taking off his pack and placing it on one of the tables, "Clair you and Luxray can work on checking out the cafeteria, I'll head down to the northern wing and see if I can't get some power running." He pulled out a small flashlight and clicked it on.

"Are you sure that's wise?" She asked, "I have Dragonair, should Luxray be with you? I mean it seems… reckless."

"I'll still have Gyarados with me, plus I know my way around here better than you so I'm less likely to need the light." He replied before heading off.

"Idiot…" She muttered to herself as she watched him go.

Dawson moved through the facility as quietly as he could manage. While still near the windows he didn't have to worry about light. As he got closer to the interior he knew he'd have to find a flashlight of some sort.

"Come on where was that forman station…" He muttered to himself as he moved about the perimeter.

He had managed to make his way into the main steel processing plant area of the building. Facilites like this one were very careful about Steel type Pokemon getting in and eating their product so many of the buildings were built like mini fortresses. Sturdy concrete walls with steel rebar through them to reinforce the structure. Windows with plexiglass and thin wire support. Even sheets of metal between concrete floor layers to prevent them from digging in.

Despite all this Dawson found himself standing in front of a large hole in the wall. Easily twenty feet tall and just as wide. The edged pointed inwards meaning whatever created this moved into the building. What surprised the trainer even more was that the edge of the hole showed almost no signs of burning or freezing meaning it was created through force.

"God damn…" He muttered to himself looking down the stream of light created by the hole.

Inside he could see what appeared to be a tipped over tanker truck along the path that the hole led to. He couldn't smell any gas but realized it likely wasn't a good idea to be hanging around something that could easily explode or let out a large amount of toxic vapors. Continuing on he mused to himself about the hole.

"I wonder if someone got locked out and tried to break in with that thing…" He said.

As he continued towards the foreman's office he couldn't help but get more nervous as he went along. The lack of movement and noise didn't bother him, he had gotten used to it by now since it was his third town he visited. It was the lack of any type of body at all. Every now and then he'd see bloodstains on the floor, some of them dragged towards the interior, but no bodies.

Eventually he found the office, a smaller room located conveniently in the corner of the facility. With a sharp kick the door was knocked inwards and Dawson stepped thought the threshold. He had been inside once before in the past. Wandering around was frowned upon when Roark had brought him down from Sinnoh. Knowing his way around helped him find a flashlight in the supply closet.

Looking past the light he noticed something that caught his attention, "Hey… that's a nice coat." He said looking at the foreman's jacket.

Grabbing the jacket he threw it on before heading back outside into the factory. With a click and a flash the light turned on and Dawson began scanning the area further in. Nothing left of worth in the foreman's office he started his trek into the depths of the facility. Passing conveyors, piles of boxes, and forklifts he wound his way through a maze of objects and machines towards the center of the facility hoping to find someone alive in the entire place.

Despite telling Clair he knew this place better than her he had to admit his knowledge was limited to the point of uselessness. Not only was it years ago he was last here he never got a full tour of the place. He even left Luxray with her under the guise of helping her navigate the facility. As he navigated the facility looking for any signs of survivors he wondered if he just didn't have faith that she'd be OK on her own.

His thoughts were interrupted by sound catching his ear. He stopped walking and tilted his head to the side to listen. It reminded him of the sound of a breeze. Soft and slow, then changing slightly before returning to it's original sound. He couldn't place his finger on what it sounded like but he could vaguely hear where it was coming from.

Shining the light in the direction of the sound Dawson's eyes widened and he sucked in a breath. This clued in his mind about the sound he heard. It was the same the same sort of sound he just made. The sound of breathing coming from the Nidoking sleeping in front of him.

The Nidoking was huge even by Pokemon standards. Curled up and sleeping in front of Dawson it easily dwarfed the human trainer. He figured it even could give his Gyarados a run for its money if it came down to it. Whatever it had been eating clearly affected it's size.

It was then, shining the light on the floor, he saw the multiple trails of dried blood leading towards the sleeping Pokemon. That he realized where all the people had gone. The Nidoking had been feasting on the humans of this place. After almost two weeks of feasting on the humans that didn't escape he likely grew in size due to the abundance of food. Dawson could only wonder how many people it ate, bones and all.

Slowly one of the eyes of the Nidoking opened and it sleepily looked about the room. It gave a few blinks when it's eyes made contact with Dawson's flashlight before shifting about. Sluggishly it reached it's mouth forwards into a small nearby alcove and pulled out an arm from inside. Snapping it's mouth together a few times the arm disappeared into its maw. With an audible gulp the Nidoking swallowed the arm and slowly closed it's eyes again.

Knowing he had spent far too much time observing the massive beast Dawson slowly began to move backwards. His breath was held as he shifted backwards silently praying that the Pokemon wouldn't wake back up. His prayers went unanswered as he saw it's nose start to sniff far too rapidly and it's eyes opened suddenly. Lifting up its head and turning it directly towards the trainer the two squared off for a moment before the Nidoking began to rise.

"Well shit." Dawson said turning and bolting away as fast as he could.

He couldn't see the Pokemon follow him but judging by the terrifyingly loud roar it let out followed by the sound of ripping metal and crushing stone he could assume it was after him. To Dawson the only concern was moving forwards. He couldn't recall the route he moved through to get to the Nidoking's nest but he could still see the hole in the wall off in the distance. Shining the flashlight directly in front of him he knew if he stopped for any reason he was dead.

The small cone of light in front of him was barely enough to see obstructions as they came forwards. Leaping onto a conveyor belt he tossed the flashlight forwards and lept off the belt. Grabbing one of the support bars above he let his momentum swing him forwards, over a pile of knocked over crates he passed earlier, and landing on the concrete catching the light with his free hand before it hit the ground.

Bolting past a forklift he heard the crash of the Nidoking as it simply smashed it's way through the obstacle. A chunk of the forklift belt flew past him into another machine ahead of him as the Pokemon smashed aside the vehicle in it's pursuit of him. The idea of passing things that might slow it down wasn't going as well as he hoped.

As Dawson approached the breach in the wall he heard a voice from behind him shout out, "Poison sting!" Not caring to wonder where it came from he dived forwards as dozens of large spines flew through the air above him. Rolling with the dive he landed outside and looked up towards the nearby building that had been struck by the attack. The pins were already starting to melt the metal wall where they had hit.

Pushing himself up he ran full bore towards the building he left Clair in.

Clair wasn't sure why she didn't push the issue of staying together with Dawson more. As she opened another cabinet in the kitchen she let out another sigh of frustration. Not only was there not much food in the kitchen, apparently it had been looted already or never stocked to begin with, but the entire situation was frustrating to her. On the one hand she knew it would be faster to separate and search individually. On the other hand she disliked the idea of being isolated again and the very fact that she disliked it annoyed her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft furry face being pressed into her hand. She looked down at Luxray as the Pokemon nudged her, obviously concerned over her attitude. Clair kneeled down and smiled at the electric Pokemon.

"I guess I am a bit depressed." She said, "You're all so well mannered and affectionate. It's a pity your master, as dense as lead, is the one who raised you to be so nice."

She gently stroked Luxray's mane while the Pokemon purred contently. She was still bothered by the fact that she didn't like being alone in this place but her companion was helping ease away those feelings. It was then that she heard a loud crash off in the direction Dawson went.

A few moments later the trainer burst through the doors, "Found the source of the missing bodies." He said nonchalantly as several large spikes burst through the walls causing him to jump away from the door.

"Dawson what the hell?" Clair asked.

The trainer's response was drowned out by something massive impacting into the side of the building shaking everything inside. He stepped further inwards as the door flew off it's hinges and an armored purple hand reached inside attempting to grab him. After a few vain attempts it retreated and it moved it's head towards the hole.

"What the hell, is that a Nidoking?!" Clair cried out as it spotted the two.

"Yeah, Take Luxray and get out the other side of the building!" He said tossing her his other Pokeball, "I'll draw it in and up and when you see me at the top of the building-" His sentence was interrupted by Nidoking slamming itself into the wall attempting to make the hole bigger, "-when I get to the top bring it down!"

"You can't be-" She said

"Don't argue, GO!" He said interrupting her.

Gritting her teeth she turned and headed to the other end of the building. Dawson watched her go before grabbing one of the few cans Clair had secured and launched it at the Nidoking. The last thing Clair saw before she made it to the connecting hallway was the can hitting the Pokemon's eye.

Hearing the roar of anger she resolved herself to be in position for when Dawson reached the roof. Sprinting through the hallway she surprised herself that not only was she faster than anytime she could recall but was actually able to keep up with Luxray who ran ahead of her. As she reached the building they had entered in she didn't even bother to work her way around the machines like when they entered.

Approaching the first obstacle she deftly lept over the entire conveyor belt and landed on the other side barely breaking stride. As she moved over she angled her body and landed with a slide, moving under the next obstacle while barely slowing down. Luxray followed alongside her with ease as she got back up and the two made their way towards the entrance. Passing the threshold and running around the side of the building she finally got a look at how much damage the Nidoking was causing.

The entire side of the building had been cracked and smashed in the Pokemon's attempt to reach Dawson. It was currently out of sight but she could still tell where it was from the building shaking and trembling. It had made it inside the structure and was likely following Dawson up the building as he fled from the deranged beast.

With a flick of her wrist she released Gyarados from it's Pokeball. Dragonair followed seconds later. Clair sized up the building as best she could and quickly formulated a plan to bring it down.

"Dragonair head to the far right corner at a forty five degree angle, Luxray you head to the near right corner at the same angle. When I give the signal hit the building's walls with a hyper beam. Dragonair you're aiming at the far side wall, Luxray the left side wall, Gyarados, right side." She said, "With any luck we'll bring the entire thing down around that Nidoking."

The Pokemon nodded and moved off to their positions. Clair looked up at the top of the building hoping Dawson made it up there in time and managed to get a signal to her.

Dawson lobbed the can towards the Nidoking as Clair ran off towards the other exit. He expected to hit the Pokemon, he did not expect to hit it right in the eye. With a blood curdling scream it smashed itself against the wall in newfound rage. Not bothering to check if he had the Pokemon's full attention he ran off towards one of the stairs leading upwards.

As soon as he reached the first step Nidoking burst through the wall and crawled towards him. The room was thankfully too small for it to move in easily but it compensated by simply dragging itself towards him. Not waiting for it to gain any more ground on him Dawson bound up the stairs. Two steps at a time he moved as fast as his body would take him.

He reached the second floor in moments and began running towards the other side of the building. He cursed the interior designer as each stair was placed at the opposite side of the building meaning he had to move across the entire structure just to gain another level. Looking behind him he found that Nidoking didn't have to worry about that as much.

The floor cracked and shattered as the Pokemon climbed directly upwards to get at him. As he reached the second stairs he charged up them reaching the top in less time than the last. It didn't help as he stared down the hallway, already cracking from Nidoking's upward ascent.

With no good way to pass he gritted his teeth he chose one of the bad ways to pass, "If this works I'll be a fucking trainer God." He said as he began to run.

As soon as he got close, and at the same time a hand bursting forth from the floor, he ran towards the wall and leapt up. Praying and still running forwards he let his foot hit the wall and kept his momentum going. Each step pushing himself further along before gravity could take ahold of him and bring him back down. Once he reached a door in the center he lept off the wall and onto the non broken floor past Nidoking.

Rolling along he got back up and kept moving towards the stairs.

Clair finally saw something happening at the top of the building as debris began raining down from above. She saw the tail of Nidoking first knocking off an air conditioner from the roof and sending it crashing down to the ground. Only a few seconds later did she see Dawson.

She could see that he must have taken a running jump off the roof as he lept into the sky above her, "He can't expect me to catch him." She said watching him spend a few moments moving forwards in the air before gravity began to pull on him.

She didn't have time to worry about catching him for the moment as she saw Nidoking ready it's spines for another attack. Throwing her hand towards the building she signaled her Pokemon to open fire. With an earsplitting blast Gyarados, Luxray, and Dragonair hit each side of the building with their blast of pure energy. The beams hit the building and caused the lower walls to explode into rubble sending clouds of dirt and debris everywhere.

Shielding her face she looked at the building as it let out a long groan before it shifted suddenly and the entire structure began to fall downwards. She didn't bother watching more than that as she recalled all three Pokemon and began to run in the opposite direction of the collapsing structure.

As she put distance between herself and the building she found herself lifted up from behind. Looking over her shoulder she saw the white mass of Togekiss carrying her further away from the chaos. After a few seconds of low hanging flight she was let down and the Pokemon landed nearby her, letting Dawson off her back.

"Son of a BITCH that was awesome!" He said recalling two of his Pokemon.

Clair saw he was breathing heavy but from the excitement or from the running she couldn't tell. She didn't bother to ask looking back at the ruins of what was once the living quarters of this place. Smoke and clouds of dirt blocked her vision preventing her from fully seeing the results of their handiwork.

"Think that got it?" She asked as Luxray's fur bristled nearby.

"I certainly hope so, I'd hate to see something that could survive getting a building dropped on it." Dawson said with a grin.

His grin drained from his face as the two heard Nidokings roar from inside the cloud. He and Clair shared a look before turning back to the rubble. The cloud of dust had begun to dissipate and they could start to see Nidoking.

Buried in stone, steel, and junk the Pokemon was nevertheless breaking free of the rubble. What's more it looked little worse for wear with no noticeable injuries on it. As it ripped it's arm free of the ruins both trainers tried thinking of something to stop it.

"Just hit it with hyper beams?" Dawson asked nervously.

"They need to recharge first, and do you think that thing would let us get the shot off." Clair said looking around.

"No." He replied.

"I got an idea, keep it occupied for a minute or two." She said, "Come On Luxray! She added running off with Dawson's electric Pokemon.

"Keep it occupied? How-" His reply was interrupted by the sound of Nidoking pulling out of the rubble.

Letting out a resigned sigh he turned towards the Pokemon. The idea of using Gyarados to battle it crossed his mind. Seeing the shaprened spikes along it's body he passed on the idea knowing it could do more harm than good. Picking up some of the nearby rebar he saw the beast spot him before it began to thrash and flail about in an attempt to escape. Knowing the debris wouldn't hold him much he moved to the edge of one of the nearby smaller buildings.

As Dawson listened to the beast as it started to break out of the rubble he began planting the rebar at an angle in the dirt. He was surprised at how easily he not only carried the large pieces of steel but how easily he could imbed them into the dirt. Once all but one had been planted he looked around the corner in an obvious manner and was greeted to the sound of the Nidoking's roar as it beelined towards him.

Ducking around the building again he slipped past the bars just in time. Barreling around the corner Dawson had just made it past the rebar as the Nidoking charged him. Enraged and starved as it was it hardly noticed the spikes he had set up. Once they starting stabbing into it's body, piercing past the things armored plates, did it notice the trap.

Dawson didn't have any time to appreciate his work as the Pokemon continued to claw it's way forwards heedless of the spikes, "Damn it all! What the fuck does it take to kill you!" He said before he heard his answer.

The horn of the mac truck, that Clair had managed to somehow hotwire, signaled to him to clear the area. He bolted forwards at an angle to avoid the machines approach as he heard the gym leader rev the engines and set the giant tanker in motion. As he fled the Nidoking behind him tried to turn to move towards him but the embedded rebar refused to allow it to move.

As Dawson and the truck approached each other Clair opened the door and got ready to jump. With the gas pedal weighed down by a brick she lept out of the speeding vehicle directly at Dawson. The trainer, not expecting the action, had barely enough time to slow down before she crashed into him. Knocked backwards the two fell to the ground as the truck sped past them.

They both looked up and watched as the giant tanker truck sped towards Nidoking who could only let out a roar of anger as it attempted to escape the bars of iron it had embedded itself on. The two watched as tens of thousands of pounds crashed into it aided by the force the engines added to it. They heard a gurgle from the beast as the tanker behind the truck followed suit and smashed itself into the Pokemon.

"Damn!" Clair said looking up, "It's supposed to blow up!"

"Wait, what? What was in that tanker?" Dawson asked.

"Gas. Dragonair HYPER BEAM!" She said.

"CLAIR NO! SHIT GET DOWN!" Dawson screamed as he threw himself over her pinning her to the ground.

Dragonair, who had been flying high while clair stole the truck, charged the orb around it's neck before letting out with a beam of pure energy at the truck. The impact of crashing into a Nidoking had ruptured the tank and the sickly orange fluid had been leaking out in gallons. The leaking problem solved itself as the beam hit creating an explosion that sent fire a column of fire shooting into the sky.

Both trainers felt the wave of force from the explosion smash into them. As soon as it passed Dawson started to get up only to feel the force of heat blast his face as the fire surged upwards. Dragonair had already retreated to a safe distance while he pulled at Clair getting her up. He was practically dragging her away from the inferno as parts of the truck and building began crashing down around them.

Both began running as they felt the heat blast their backs. Eventually they made it to a safer distance where the heat wasn't as scalding. Both Luxray and Dragonair moved over to them as they watched the black smoke rise up from the inferno. Both took this moment to catch their breath and collect themselves.

Clair was the first to react, "HA! That was EPIC." She said with enthusiasm Dawson could only assume was due to madness.

"Glad to see you're having fun." He said leaning against a building.

"Oh come on Dawson, you wanted that thing dead and you got it." She said, "Nothing says I can't take pride in my work."

"Yeah yeah, at least that thing is-" He started but the statement died on his lips.

From inside the inferno they both heard an ear splitting roar before a part of the tanker burst out of the black cloud crashing off in the distance. Both of them heard the sounds of ripping metal as another roar echoed across the facility. Before Clair could say anything Dawson pushed her onto Dragonair as he recalled Luxray.

"Whelp that's it we're done here." He said with what he hoped sounded like nonchalance that covered his fear.

Clair adjusted her seating as Dawson summoned Togekiss, "Know when to hold em, fold em, and when to cut and RUN!" She screamed as they both saw Nidoking ripping itself out of the firestorm.

Neither of them bothered to look back as the fled into the sky.


	29. Chapter 29

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 28th

"Move it Clair!" Dawson said as he lept off Togekiss and began grabbing things at the campsite.

Clair was a little slower but never the less hurried behind Dawson. Both had made a beeline for the campsite as soon as they had gained sufficient altitude when the left the steel plant. When they looked back they could see the still smoldering form of Nidoking in pursuit as best as it could manage. They needed to clear out their camp as soon as possible before the thing reached them.

"What does it take to kill that thing?" Clair wondered aloud as she stuffed her sleeping bag into it's pouch.

"The only thing I know about that thing for sure is that it's soaked up far more punishment than I ever thought possible and it is now VERY pissed at us." Dawson said tossing most of his supplies into his pack.

Both froze as they heard the roar of the Nidoking and the sound of breaking trees in the distance. Nothing had to be said between the two as they grabbed what they could and rushed back to their Pokemon. Both Togekiss and Dragonair, after watching Nidoking shrug off more damage than either imagined, were nervous and restless as the their two trainers lept onto their backs.

It was just in time as the roaring form of Nidoking plowed through the forest towards them. The trainers and their Pokemon shot upwards as several spines were launched towards them. It was a blind shot and it showed as not one of the spines even got close to the four of them. As they fled towards the sky the Nidoking let out another massive roar and began following from the ground once again.

"We can't head back to the base with that thing following us." Clair shouted over the rushing air.

"The mountains!" Dawson shouted back, "We can head over them, then double back once we lose that thing on the other side." He patted Togekiss on the side towards the mountain range and the Pokemon chirped in response adjusting it's heading.

"What about food? We left most of our meals back in the camp site." Clair said as Dragonair caught up to Togekiss.

"We'll figure it out as we go. I know enough about survival that we should be OK for a few days." Dawson said watching Clair nod as the two continued to fly towards the snowy mountains.

The first thing the two noticed as they fled was how efficiently the Nidoking was follow them. Despite them being on creatures that could fly it's roars could always be heard in the distance and it would occasionally come within sight of the two as they raced through the sky. When they could see it they saw it clearly adjusting it's path to find the clearest route so it could keep up with them. Even as the terrain grew more and more rocky it still managed to relentlessly pursue them.

The second thing they noticed was how cold it was getting. They were gaining altitude and the temperature showed it. Their breaths coming out in clouds they continued to soar over the mountains. Only after they started passing through the snow covered tops did they finally stop seeing or hearing the Nidoking. By that time however both trainers were freezing and their teeth chattering at the chill cold and wind.

"D-D-Dawson we n-n-need to get out of here." Clair said shivering.

"We're almost to the top." Dawson replied as he hugged himself for warmth, "When w-w-we top the mountains we c-c-can just glide down."

No sooner had he said this than the crest of the mountains moved below them. As they looked down their hearts sank as they saw a massive cloud formation covering the other side of the mountains. It was clear that they were storm clouds and that they were heading right towards them.

"Togekiss can we avoid those?" Dawson asked.

Togekiss gave a chirp but she and Dragonair had also been hit hard by the cold and sudden marathon to get away from the Nidoking. Both trainers knew, as they started to glide towards the clouds, that neither Pokemon could last much longer much less avoid what looked to be miles of storm clouds. Gliding was the best they could hope for at this moment.

Dawson rubbed Togekiss' side as he braced to enter the clouds, "It's OK buddy you did good." He said as he caught clair doing something similar to her own Dragonair.

Breaching the clouds was as unpleasant an experience as they both expected. While the temperature had gone up as they descended now they were getting wet. The rain was drenching them and they had no means of covering themselves as their supplies were a mess after leaving so quickly. Flying further and further down they felt the rain get worse until Dawson was sure they must have been swimming at some point.

Passing through the clouds at last they were met with heavy forest all around them. From what both could see there wasn't even any signs of light as they started to approached the ground. With only dense trees and foliage around them Dawson came to an unpleasant decision.

"Clair we're going to have to land in one of those lakes." He shouted over the rain.

"I knew you were going to say that." She replied with a grimace as they directed their Pokemon to the water.

"You've done enough Togekiss I'll take care of the landing." Dawson said once the water had gotten close enough.

Feeling his Pokemon slow down upon approach he fixed his pack firmly to his back. Pulling out a Pokeball he waited a moment before returning Togekiss and falling the rest of the way towards the water. Splashing down he felt himself submerge and sink a ways as the water absorbed his speed from the flight. Soaked as he was he didn't really feel much difference from being outside in the rain to underwater.

With a few arm movements and kicks from his legs he swam upwards and breached the surface with a gasp. As his head surfaced he felt the rain pouring down on him once again. Bobbing in the choppy water he looked around for Clair and saw her swimming towards the shore. Not wishing to be left behind in the water he followed suit.

Climbing ashore he realized everything in his pack was completely soaked and multiple items in there were likely worthless now, "God this day is really starting to suck…" He said with irritation.

"Understating things isn't going to get us dry." Clair replied, "Lets get under cover of the woods for now.

Both trainers picked themselves up off the shore and began moving towards the forest. It was a small beach and didn't take long for them to get under the cover of the canopy of the woods. In some ways it was almost worse under the leaves. When Dawson was out in the pouring rain he didn't care if it hit him. Now it would hit him intermittently and constantly irritate him as it kept him from ever drying off.

Finding a larger than average tree nearby the two collapsed at it's base and took a few moments to recover their strength. Both of them shivered as they sat down, The forest was warmer than the mountains but the chill that had seeped into their bones on their trip over and the soaking rain was causing their body heat to drop. The idea of building a fire was impossible to even consider so they had to work on warming themselves up without it.

Reaching into his pack Dawson pulled out one of the tarp like blankets he had managed to get inside before the Nidoking caught up to them. Unfurling it out he sat next to Clair and wrapped them both inside of it. Shifting over he wrapped it as tightly around them as he could then pulled a free flap over their heads.

Clair shifted uncomfortably next to him, "Don't get any ideas now." She muttered as she wrapped her hands around herself to keep warm.

"The heck are you talking about?" He asked rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

"I've seen enough movies to know how this goes…" She said, "First it's get out of our wet clothes, then it's stay close to keep in body heat, then I have to explain myself to Joy about what happened after that. I'd rather not have to have that conversation with her so like I said, don't get any ideas."

"Oh my God there are so many things wrong with what you just said I don't even know where to begin." Dawson said with a groan.

"Hold on what is that?" Clair asked reaching out a hand towards something in the forest.

Dawson looked over in the direction she pointed to, "Looks like a light of some sort." He said.

A small glowing blue orb floated a hundred feet from where they huddled under the tree. It slowly bobbed up and down for a moment before floating towards them slowly. Eventually it came to within a few feet of the two and continued to bob in front of them.

Both trainers had grabbed onto their Pokeballs as the light came closer. Their bodies tensed as the light bounced before them. In the next second the light popped like a balloon causing both of them to jump slightly. From behind them came the sound of mocking laughter as a face appeared on the tree.

Both Clair and Dawson leapt forwards upon seeing the face and threw off the blanket readying their Pokeballs. From inside the tree a ghostly form floated outwards and continued to laugh. It's purple body and disembodied hands made it easy to recognize to the two Pokemon veterans.

"Haunter… Damn I'm not sure how the ghosts have changed now-a-days." Dawson said readying his Pokeball, "Back me up Clair, let's see what this things got."

"Dawson wait!" She said putting a hand on his shoulders.

"What, Why?" He asked.

"That was a Will-o-wisp attack, Haunters don't learn those naturally." She said, "This one is a trainer Pokemon."

"So… is it friend." He said looking at it's still laughing form, "... Or foe. AND STOP LAUGHING JACKASS!" He finished shouting at the Haunter.

In response the Pokemon straightened up and gave a mocking salute with one hand while it's other pointed down as it stood at attention. The salute only lasted for a moment before the Haunter broke character and started laughing again. Eventually it calmed down enough to start floating away into the forest. When it saw both trainers still standing on the spot it turned and signaled with it's hands to follow it.

"That thing irritates me." Dawson said.

"But it doesn't seem hostile… maybe it wants to help us." Clair said.

"Do you think we can trust it?" He asked.

"Do you think we can last through the night out here." Clair asked as they both began to feel the effects of the cold.

"Good point." He replied moving after the ghost with Clair.

Both of them worked their way through the forest behind Haunter. They both shivered and tried to keep warm as they moved. Any time they lost sight of the ghost a will-o-wisp would appear further ahead leading them onward. They walked for only a few minutes but each step drained them even further. They were so worn down they didn't even notice the lights in the distance or the rain lessening as they got closer.

"The hell… what is a place like this doing here?" Dawson said as he looked up at the lights.

Before them was a large building. From behind it steam rose into the evening air and the front was lit with dozens of lights in the windows and along the porch. Haunter had moved to the building and stood alongside a line of a dozen Ghastly and a solitary Gengar standing in the middle. The entire group stood before them for a moment before they all bowed in unison.

It was after the Pokemon had bowed that they two trainers finally saw the sign hanging from the front of the building, "'Agatha's Hot Springs Inn, What the hell?" Dawson said blinking a few times to make sure he didn't imagine the sign.

"This is Agatha's inn?" Clair said to herself, "So that's what she did when she retired. Makes a bit of sense."

"Care to elaborate?" He asked.

"Agatha was a member of the elite four a few years ago. She was the oldest one and used ghost Pokemon. Eventually she retired and left when the job became too demanding for her. I guess she chose to open an inn out here." She said to him with a faint smile playing across her face.

"Do you think she's here?" He asked.

At that the Gengar stepped forwards. He signaled to Haunter to move forwards as well. With a snap of his ghostly fingers he signaled for the Haunter to go to work. Haunter's hands out in front of himself he began twisting them as they both shaped into basic images before the two trainers.

One hand formed into a small and simple cartoony image of Agatha and the other formed into a miniature version of itself. The mini Agatha was shown walking along with the mini Haunter. Suddenly the ghost let out a flash of light and it grew cartoony muscular arms. The mini Agatha then jumped into the air and fell on it's back while holding a wilted flower. The mini Haunter let out a few tears which it tried to wipe away with muscled arms.

"So… The sudden surge of power in you ghosts caused Agatha to have a heart attack or something and she died?" Clair asked.

With a snap of both his hands, the cartoony images returning to normal hands, the Haunter pointed both at Clair as it smiled confirmation. The Gengar stepped forwards once again and pointed to the sign behind them. He then pointed to himself and puffed out his chest. The Haunter did the same while the Ghastly said their names and bowed again.

"So you're running the inn now?" Dawson asked.

Gengar nodded and swept its hands inward towards the front door along with Haunter. The Ghastly floated backwards allowing them to form a funnel for the main entrance then bowed again. Clair and Dawson shared a look before Clair shrugged at the situation.

"It's either trust them or spend the evening in the rain…" Clair said.

"Yeah… and I'm sure we'd be attacked anyways if we refused and they weren't trustworthy." Dawson said.

Haunter, overhearing their conversation, deflated slightly and for once looked somewhat sad at Dawson's words, "Oh don't be mean Dawson." Clair said walking over to the ghost and patting it on the head, "We'll be happy to accept your hospitality."

Dawson shrugged as he followed the gym leader and ghost into the building. The Ghastly floated in behind them leaving the Gengar outside with a smile on it's face. Rubbing his hands together he floated into the air and headed towards the rear of the building.

As Dawson and Clair walked through the building they had to rub their eyes slightly at the brightness of the interior. With all the lights on and the outside growing steadily darker with the coming evening their eyes didn't have enough time to adjust properly. All they could do was follow the Haunter as it lead them through the hallways.

Dawson couldn't help but feel unease. His arms crossed despite the heat of the building he kept looking behind at the smiling Ghastly following them then at the Haunter before them. They didn't have any hostile intent from what he could tell but he still felt nervous at the entire situation.

"Nervous?" Clair asked.

"Yeah… Anything too good to be true usually is." Dawson said.

"Don't be, If they wanted to attack us they would have by now. Not only that but they're Agatha's personal Pokemon, if something outside the building wants to get us then they're going to have to go through them and they're likely more powerful than anything within a hundred miles." Clair said looking over at him with a smile.

"Yeah that's what worries me." He replied, "That Gengar, I'm no expert trainer but I could feel power radiating from him."

"Who knows if this place is good we can transport everyone here rather than the Rocket base." Clair said, "If the ghosts can help protect people it'll be a much better place than where we are now. Further out of the way, woods probably have lots of food, And even a hot springs. It's been forever since I've had a good bath."

"Warm water will feel nice, I won't argue there." Dawson said.

Eventually the Haunter stopped at one of the doors. A sign above it said 'changing room'. There was another next to it with the same sign above that one and each door had a corresponding symbol on it for males and females. With a grand flourish Haunter waved his hand towards the door for the trainers.

"Guess it's a trip to the hot springs first." Dawson said moving to the male changing room.

He was relieved when Haunter or the Ghastly didn't bother to follow him into the room. Inside wasn't much to describe, several piles of towels, a robe for walking around, and even a basket for dirty clothes. Removing his pack and soaked clothes he dried himself off with one of the towels before grabbing a spare and the robe for walking around.

Stepping outside he saw Clair waiting for him in a similar robe. As the two followed Haunter around the corner they saw a fork in the short hallway. The threshold had a draped cloth over it and another male and female symbol indicating which side to go into. Steam emanated from both and it didn't take much for either of them to figure out this was the hot springs area. Heading down the male side Dawson entered the adjoining room. Hanging up the towel he made his way into the steam filled outside.

The rain had either let up or there was something higher up blocking it as he could hear it but no longer feel the water. The hot springs were fairly sizable with a large main pool built into the rock with several smaller more private pools nearby. The back had a large rock formation with several small streams of water leading down it. A large wooden wall separated one side of the room from the other.

Knowing Clair was likely on the other side of the wall Dawson spoke up, "I'd like to take a moment to appreciate how bizarre this entire thing is." He said walking towards the water, "I mean just a few hours ago we were dealing with a Pokemon that refused to die, now we're taking a bath in a hot spring."

He heard a splash from the other side then an almost orgasmic moan come from the female side drawing a blush to his cheeks, "I'm sorry Dawson I can't hear you over how good this feels." Clair said with a sigh, "Oh my god I forgotten how good warm water feels."

"I don't know," Dawson said putting his foot in the warm water.

He really wanted to let Clair know how much he agreed with how good it felt. He held his tongue due to the unease he felt at the entire setup. As slid into the water it was taking all his effort not just to slouch down and absorb the warmth from the hot springs.

"I can't help but feel this is too good to be true." He said.

"Dawson, even if it is enjoy it for what it's worth. Whether or not it's some devious trap isn't going to affect how much we enjoy the bait." She said letting out another sigh.

"I guess so…" He replied, "I wonder how the others are doing. We're probably going to be going over schedule again."

"They'll be fine. They don't have to deal with the rain or dangerous Pokemon like we do, and I bet all we'll have to worry about is Lance staying up a few nights with the lights on." She said.

"Still my conscience feels guilty about enjoying this when the others are likely still sleeping in bunks." He said.

"Guilty enough not to enjoy it?" She asked.

"No…" He replied.

"If we're lucky we'll be able to bring the others here and let them enjoy it too." She said, "And I'm sure you'll be able to give Joy a personal tour of the hot springs as well."

Dawson was quiet for a minute before responding, "She really likes me doesn't she?" He asked.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice till now?" Clair replied with shock.

"No, I knew," Dawson said with a somber tone, "I just don't know what to do about it."

"Do you care about her as well?" She asked.

"Yes-" He began.

"Well then there is no problem." She said, "Don't think about it so much."

"If it was that simple it wouldn't be a problem." He replied, "Beyond the logical question of how much of her feelings are based around the fact that I helped save her life and kept her alive throughout most of this debacle. There's also the question of how to have a relationship when such things could be disastrous."

"Oh come on Dawson, how bad could it be. Even if you two don't end up together it's not like it'll tear the group apart. You're both adults and it seems like you're both mature enough to deal with the fallout of an unsuccessful relationship." She replied.

'It's not a matter of it not working out I'm worried about. It's the matter of what could happen when it does work out." Dawson said with a sigh.

He heard the splashing of someone moving on the other side of the hot springs. Realizing Clair was getting out he dunked his head under the water to fully immerse himself for a moment before surfacing. Climbing out and grabbing the towel he dried himself off quickly and threw back on the robe he had left in the changing room.

Stepping outside into the hallway roughly the same time as Clair the two were greeted by Haunter who swept his arm towards the far end of the hallway. Without much else to do the two headed down and were directed into one of the rooms by a Ghastly with a smile. As they opened the door Dawson couldn't help but notice.

"These things smile too much." He said.

No reply came from Clair and as he looked into the room he could see why. The room was a dining room filled to the brim with food. Dawson wasn't sure how but the ghosts had managed to cook a full course meal for them along with plenty of other side dishes. Both trainers were flabbergasted at the sight. Eventually Clair recovered first, reaching a leg forward she tapped the ground in front of them before stepping in.

"Clearly you were worried that the floor would fall out from beneath us if I didn't check." She said with a wry smile before sitting down at one of the chairs.

Dawson slowly followed her into the room and sat down opposite of her, "No I'm still trying to figure out how they even managed to make this spread." He said.

Taking a bite of the food Clair let out a small squeal of delight before reaching over to eat something else, "So what did you mean?" She asked between bites.

"Pardon?" Dawson asked tasting various things.

"How it would somehow be worse if you and Joy ended up together." She said.

"Oh, that's easy I mean sex." He said smiling at Clair choking on her food at his response, "Or more accurately the end result from the aforementioned sex." He clarified.

"The end result?" She asked after coughing down her food.

"If we were to end up together sex would inevitably happen. I doubt very much my willpower would hold up to her insistence or vice versa if it came down to it. If we did have sex then there's a very likely chance she'd get pregnant at some point even if we're careful. What then?" Dawson said adopting his somber tone once more, "As much as I'd like to act on my feelings for her I can't in good conscience do so while we're still so much in the dark as to what's going on. The saving grace it seems is that she's naturally timid and that's giving me a least a bit of time to figure things out."

"OK, It seems my advice from earlier was a bit useless." Clair said, "Telling you to not to think about something is apparently a very tall order."

* * *

><p>Somewhere unknown.<p>

A bored man sat at a desk adorned with a massive array of monitors and computers. They all hummed with life and occasionally blinked their lights at the man. The screens monitored information that was useful to some but extremely boring to the man at the desk.

His sitting was slouched and his head rested on his balled fist as he gazed at the multitude of monitors before him. Occasionally his eyes would close and his posture would slouch more before it finally caused him to slip out of his position and jostle him awake. Each time he'd straighten up and try to refocus only for the whole process to repeat a few minutes later.

During his most recent bout of sleep his head started to dip. Before it could slip out of his hands he bolted upright as a beeping sound from one of the computers woke him up. The light of one of the monitors flashed a few times and the man blinked to clear out his vision and try to wake himself up. After a few moments of clearing away his blurred vision his eyes opened wide and he scrambled out of his chair.

Bolting out of the room he entered into a hallway filled with light that blinded him. Wincing and cursing himself for being an idiot he moved down the hallway and reached one of the doors further down. Knocking twice he waited for a moment taking the time to adjust his uniform.

From inside he heard the sound of cursing before the door opened. From inside came a fairly disheveled man who had just finished throwing on a shirt. His hair, while messy maintained it's style of pointing in a single direction off his head. He was a fairly large man who had more muscle than most of the other agents he worked with.

"What hour is it and why are you bothering me at such a terrible time." He said with a yawn.

"Sorry commander Tyson it's just we got another signal from one of our bases. It looks like their computers were off or had been damage which is why it took so long for them to respond." The officer said.

Tyson blinked a few times before he put a hand up to his face, "Of course this happens in the middle of the night." He mumbled before signaling to the man to lead the way.

Entering the room Tyson stared at the screen for a moment before he scratched his hair and let out a mumble, "Sir?" The officer asked unsure of what he said.

"Oh, I'm just wondering who's at that location." He said.

"Well I would think some of our comrades… right?" The man said.

"Except this place has been abandoned ever since the experiment was deemed a failure. Who the hell wandered into that base?" He said as he looked at the map as it displayed the signal coming from the lake of rage.


	30. Chapter 30

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. Thirty chapters and almost a hundred and fifty thousand words. I will finish this story.

August 28th

Rocket base

The day was clear and beautiful at the rocket base. The air was crisp and pure, the water shimmered with the light of the sun. When Lance had first woke up he had thought it would be a better day than the one before. He was quickly proven wrong.

An explosion rocked the outside of the rocket base as Dragonite was sent flying backwards into the building's wall. Three Sandslash had combined their weight and slammed into the dragon sending into the wall. Before he or any of the other Pokemon could respond they darted back into the grass and vanished from sight. Gardevoir could follow them by their mental trails but it was nearly impossible to hit them due to the speed in which they scattered.

This had been happening all day long. Almost every hour on the hour another attack would come. Different combinations of Pokemon each time made adjusting to each attack a difficult prospect. Sometimes it would be Murkrow with Sandslash, other times it would be Ratticade with Nidoran and Nidorino, and sometimes an Arbok could be seen attacking alongside the others.

Joy popped her head out of the building and looked about for Lance, "Lance? Are you all OK?" She asked.

Lance had been over with his Dragonite pulling, or at least trying to, the large Pokemon out of the crater it created in the wall. Eventually Torterra moved over and helped the dragon trainer remove his Pokemon from where it had gotten stuck.

"No, we're OK Clair. Just our pride injured this time." He said patting Dragonite on it's side.

The Pokemon managed to blush slightly and bring it's arm up to it's head in embarrassment, "I still think it wouldn't hurt to check. Staying indoors with everyone else gets a bit stressful." She said moving over to Dragonite.

"How's Steven." Lance asked feeling the entire group's mood, Pokemon included, sink in response.

"Sleeping… he woke up a few times but never managed much beyond looking about before he passed out." She said letting her hand rest on Dragonite's body.

"Steven… and May." Lance said somberly, "I still can't believe it."

Joy recalled the attack that happened just yesterday. Her nightmares had come back in full after the attack. After the first one she had just resolved herself to go without sleep. She knew she couldn't last long without it but her mind consoled herself with the promise that it 'was just until Dawson came back'. She was brought out of her thoughts by Lance.

"We at least managed to bury May." Lance said refusing to even mention that it was just what was left of her.

"Yeah…" She said.

As the two humans continued to talk Gardevoir couldn't help but keep an eye on the forest. She had normally used both future sight and her own psychic powers to detect anything approaching but recently the Kadabra had been blocking. She hadn't realized how much she relied on it until the attacks started. Not knowing where or when the attacks would happen frustrated her to no end.

"You should take a break." Dragonite said to her as he walked over.

"I can not. After that last attack I have no right to relax while those Pokemon are out there." She replied with a little more hostility than she had intended.

Dragonite smiled, an easy task for a creature whose face was naturally smiling, and he sat down next to the psychic Pokemon, "I didn't say relax. I said you should take a break. It's quite apparent to the other Pokemon who work with you that you've lost your edge in finding these Pokemon." He said.

"I have not." She snapped back.

"Yes you have, which means you need to rest like everyone else." He replied, "Otherwise even the Mareep will start doing better than you when it comes to guarding those children."

Gardevoir was about to snap at him again but she chose to hold her tongue this time. Turning around without so much as a word to Dragonite she floated towards the door to the rocket base. Making her way inside she decided that if they were going to insist on her resting she'll rest with the children keeping them safe as well.

"Wow not every day someone can get Gardie to do… well anything." Torterra said.

"She is very driven to be sure." Dragonite said sadly, "Pity she's so driven she'll drive herself into the ground for those kids."

"Yeah she's always been a momma to us." Torterra replied with a smile, "She would even baby Dawson every now again. She'd refuse to get into her Pokeball until she saw him eat his supper. Sometimes she'd even tuck him in when he went to bed."

"Sadly I think this world is starting to turn her more smothering features into a full blown psychosis." Dragonite said.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Gardie knows right from wrong and she always does right." Torterra said.

"Even when it comes to attacking me?" Dragonite replied to the ground Pokemon.

"Well… uhh…" Torterra fumbled.

"You would be surprised how easy it is to turn someone who's emotions run so hot like hers do." Dragonite said as he went back to watching the treeline.

Meanwhile Gardevoir had made her way into the children's room. The kids were much more idle than she would have liked, considering what happened yesterday she understood. Adjusting their minds often left them with a sense of listlessness and it didn't help the amount of work she had to do to make them forget. Before she could move towards them she jumped slightly as she felt arms wrap around her waist.

Lisa had moved next to her and wrapped the psychic Pokemon in a hug around her waist. Gardevoir did her best to smile and led the girl towards her bunk. Sitting down on the mattress Lisa sat down next to her and refused to let go of her waist. It was shortly after sitting that Gardevoir noticed the other humans in the room.

Both Eric and Rosemary stared at her from the opposite side of the room. They had been put in charge of keeping an eye on the children and neither knew what to do regarding Gardevoir. The Pokemon had made eye contact before going back to tending to the small girl in her lap.

"She shouldn't be near the kids." Rosemary said quietly.

"She…" Eric began, "She doesn't seem to want to hurt them."

"Look at what she's done to them, they're all like zombies now." She said, "She goes into their minds and mucks about without any of us knowing what she's doing. Joy isn't much better."

"Hey now, Joy is doing the best she can." He said.

"She covered up for that Pokemon, as far as I'm concerned she may as well gone into the children's mind herself. I can't trust a Pokemon that can change your thoughts and I won't trust someone who willingly covers up for them." She said.

"Rose, common. Joy was just doing what she figured was best." He said.

"I don't care!" She said slamming her hand onto the table, "I won't trust that Pokemon and I won't trust that damn nurse." She stood up from the table and headed out the door.

As she passed Gardevoir she leveled a glare at the Pokemon which the psychic calmly ignored while stroking the hair of Lisa. She had heard the entire conversation but paid it no mind. She didn't care if the adults didn't trust her as long as the children were safe. Glancing up she noticed Eric had gotten up and left as well. She let out a sigh as she waited for night to inevitably arrive.

Hours later

Once the night had arrived the attacks had stopped completely. Lance had chosen to leave the watch to Gyarados as both he and Dragonite were exhausted. Eric had agreed to take watch over him even without knowing how to battle with Pokemon. Thankfully assisting in his guard duty was Torterra.

Unlike many of the other Pokemon Torterra was part grass Pokemon. It's tree atop it's back was able to constantly absorb nutrients and sunlight allowing him to stay alert and away even over long periods of time. His trainer along with his other Pokemon friends often wondered why he chose to sleep so much if he could stay up for extended periods of time. His response was simple 'I like to take naps'.

The moon was in the sky shining down on the Rocket base as Eric sat next to torterra outside. He stifled a yawn before looking out at the clear lake around them. The water occasionally broke with the ripples of Gyarados as it would swim to the surface. The Mareep and Ponyta had huddled together for warmth near the side of the building. In Eric's mind it was a surprisingly quiet night despite what had happened before.

He hadn't seen the attack but having the children return in such a state followed by the sight of Steven's lost arm had shocked him completely. For a time he had thought that things were going to be OK and that the could stay at the Rocket base until all this disaster blew over. The attack followed by the near constant hammering they took during the day brought his his naivety back down to earth. The only thing he could look forward to was seeing how they could use the computer he got working within the Rocket base.

As he thought about what might be on it a flash of light before him blinded him as Gardevoir teleported in front of him. As Eric rubbed his eyes to clear away the blindness Gardevoir touched his head and let her mental powers seep into his mind causing his thoughts to fade and sleep to overtake him. Holding him aloft she let him slide to the ground quietly before looking at Torterra.

"Take care of him, he will wake shortly." She said.

"Gardie?" Torterra started, "What are you-" His question was cut off as she put a hand to his head.

"I am going to protect the children. Do not follow me." She said.

"What?" He asked confused as to what she was doing.

"When I come back everything will be all right. Keep him and the children safe." She said before floating off towards the woods.

"Gardie… GARDIE!" Torterra shouted after her as he watched her head into the woods.

It didn't take her long to get into the forest. It took even less time to get to the spot where she last met the Kadabra. As she moved towards their last meeting spot she wondered what her trainer was doing at this time. She didn't have long to think about it as she approached the clearing she had been in previously and waited.

Seconds turned into minutes which turned into a hour as she waited for him to arrive. It wasn't difficult to figure out why it was taking so long. Even with the Psychic blocking her precognition and psychic searches she could still hear the rustling of bushes and movement of Pokemon. She was being surrounded and she knew it.

"I didn't quite expect you to come back here. I believe I was clear in saying take the children and leave." Kadabra said teleporting into the area.

"You were… I also assumed you were smart enough not to question my own intelligence. We both know why we're here so don't dance around the bush with pleasantries." Gardevoir shot back with venom in her voice.

"Pity… I had hoped you would have made this easier on yourself and those children." Kadabra said.

"I don't care about what you hoped. You threatened and killed the children. You will die for that." Gardevoir said.

Kadabra was about to respond when the sound of moving dirt and snapping branches drew his attention away from Gardevoir. A nearby tree had completely uprooted itself and floated in the air for a second. In the next it was flung at him with nearly the same force as a hurricane could manage.

He reached out an arm and felt the tree's force come to a stop directly in front of him, "A pathetic performance to say the lea-" His sentence was cut off as he saw a flash of light come from Gardevoir.

Psychic power flowed off her like flames made of lavender color. One hand was held aloft and pointing at the tree while another had been raised up at her side. Inside her palm beams of purple light were being drawn into a glowing white sphere. Putting her hand forward along with her other one the orb of light held itself aloft in front of her for a moment before it rippled with power and shot a beam of pure psychic energy at Kadabra.

He barely had time to teleport away before the Psybeam hit the area he was just standing on. The tree she held, ground, and even the woods behind where he stood were instantly annihilated. The area immediately around the psybeam remained untouched showing her control over the attack as Gardevoir began looking around for the Psychic.

"Kill her!" Kadabra said as he reappeared further away in the woods.

At his command the other Pokemon began to move in. Most were understandably nervous at having to attack Gardevoir after seeing the pure power on display. Many more just bolted backwards as she took what remained of the tree she threw at Kadabra and began sweeping it around her. Any Pokemon that got to close got it's face smashed in with the tree as the Psychic kept looking for Kadabra.

"Asss alwaysss, your plansss go ssso well right from the ssstart." Arbok said as he slithered next to Kadabra's hiding spot.

"Silence worm!" He snapped back.

Before he could further insult the snake Arbok opened his mouth and shot a mass of venom at Gardevoir from where he lay near Kadabra. The psychic watched as it was mentally swatted away by Gardevoir and cursed the snake for being so obvious. He would have snapped at him but by the time he looked back to where he once was Arbok had already left. His attention was drawn back to Gardevoir when he caught another flash of light at the corner of his eye.

Teleporting away as another Psybeam shot through the area he reappeared right in front of Gardevoir, "Your trainer must have worked hard to teach you that move, it suits you, very indicative of your willingness to be his slave!" He said focusing his mental powers and launching a Psychic attack at her.

It was Gardevoir's turn to teleport away this time. Reappearing further away in a nearby field she summoned her energy for her next attack. From the trees all around her leaves were ripped off and flew through the air. The swarm of leaves surrounded her like a snowstorm. With an outstretched hand she sent her Magical Leaf attack shooting towards Kadabra like they were fired out of a gun.

In the second before the leaves hit Kadabra's body vanished and was replaced with a very surprised looking Tanglegrowth. The Grass Pokemon was killed instantly as the leaves cut through it like a hot knife through butter. Kadabra reappeared behind Gardevoir and used his own Telekinesis attack to slam Gardevoir into the air with all the force he could manage.

She was blown backwards and into the air by Kadabra's attack. As she flew through the air she was able to reorient herself mid-air and land with the grace of a ballerina. Inwardly Kadabra smacked himself on the head when he remembered that she and her kind move by floating. He took the newly created space between the two of them to check around for any of his allied Pokemon. He was slightly irritated to see no one else in the clearing.

"Worthless cowards." He muttered then consoled himself with the knowledge that it was likely better than losing his army in Gardevoir's warpath.

As she landed on the ground she paused for a few moments. The entire time the two psychics never broke eye contact with each other. Kadabra began to wonder if she was trying to engage him in a staring contest when she finally moved. Darting forwards she bolted to the left of him, at the same time she was still charging directly at him, then she changed directions again leaving behind another version of herself behind to continue charging him. It was at the fourth direction change and fourth double that he figured out what was going on.

"Shit Double Team!" He said as his spoons glowed with a white light.

Slashing them through the air he sent out slices of pure energy at the now six Gardevoir that were charging him. His Psycho cut moved through the air like shards of glass slashing and cutting into the Gardevoir's charging him. He managed to hit all but two as they both leapt at him. Realizing he was going to take the next attack he summoned a wall of energy before him and hoped his Reflect would blunt some of the damage. When both Gardevoir's hit the screen and vanished he realized he made a serious mistake.

In a flash of light Gardevoir Teleported behind Kadabra with another ball of energy in her hand. Before he could even turn she threw her hand forward and aimed the Psybeam at his exposed back. As Gardevoir watched as her hand, and the ball of energy near it, draw closer to ending Kadabra's life and allowing her to avenge the children something from the edge of the field shot towards the two.

Before she could finish her attack something hit her hand disrupting her focus and instinctively causing her to draw back her hand. She wasn't sure what hit her but chose not to worry about it as she teleported to the other side of the field to put some distance between her and her mysterious attacker. Reappearing away from Kadabra she felt her hand burning and took a second to look down at it. From her elbow down dripped a sizzling toxic slime that was eating away at her arm. It was then that she felt the pain from the Acid attack.

Letting out a pain filled scream she managed to look up and feel her heart sink as hundred of Pokemon approached from the opposite end of the field. All of them were lead by the same Arbok that she knew she had killed on the way from Agricola.

"Arbok take care where you spray your acid." Kadabra said as he felt his tail burn slightly from a few of the drops that hit him, "You nearly hit me with your last attack."

"I didn't realize you'd be ssso picky about who sssavesss you." Arbok replied smugly, "Pokemon attack!"

Behind him the mass of Pokemon they had been training surged forwards. Fear had gripped them when they first fought Gardevoir and saw her power. Now she was winded, wounded, and most of all outnumbered on a massive scale. They knew she couldn't kill them all and they would be rewarded for being the one who dealt the killing blow to such a powerful Pokemon.

Gardevoir for her part knew the acid was only going to get worse. With the mass of Pokemon charging her she realized she had little choice and no escape from the situation. Kadabra could easily finish her off if she tried to run. Plucking a single leaf from a nearby tree she used her Magical Leaf attack and brought it down upon her arm, severing it above where the acid had creeped to. Her useless arm fell to the ground with a splat and she did her best to staunch the bleeding with Heal Pulse.

By now the horde had just about reached her. She took one last deep breath and faced the mass of Pokemon. Her eyes flared up and the entire first wave of Pokemon that looked at her fell asleep instantly. This lead to the mass charge collapsing as the first row of Pokemon just stopped causing the second and third to trip over their comrades.

Before they could reorganize their lines Gardevoir, panting and sweating from the pain, charged the group. Her first step launched her in the air above the mass of Pokemon. Several of them had the good sense to launch whatever projectile attacks they could at her as needles, spines and acid was launched at her. As she arced through the air above them her body split into dozens of forms and many of the attacks passed harmlessly through her doubles.

The real Gardevoir, with several needles sticking out of her chest, brought her hand down where she was going to land. The Pokemon at the center of her landing area were blasted backwards sending a wave of flung creatures outwards from where Gardevoir touched down. Moving forward she hit the Pokemon before her with the same blast sending them flying backwards in all directions. Her goal was Kadabra and she wouldn't be denied.

With a cry like a banshee's wail she charged him again. With all the chaos she caused in the mass of Pokemon her pathway was almost completely clear. Slamming and throwing aside any Pokemon in her way she drew closer and closer to where Kadabra was standing. The mass of Pokemon were closing in on her from behind but at the speed she was moving forward they wouldn't catch up in time.

Kadabra for his part was panicking. Nothing was stopping her and fleeing in terror from Gardevoir would undermine any confidence the other Pokemon had in him. Choosing to face her head on he charged his energy and prepared his Psybeam. If she was going to get to him she was going to have to take the full force of his power.

With a final leap she launched herself into the air again and flew straight down towards the Psychic. In response Kadabra let loose with all the power of his Psybeam shooting the beam directly at her. He watched with satisfaction as it shot through the air and burned into Gardevoir's body. His brief moment of joy was filled with dread as he saw it had only burned away part of her body and arm. She was still diving towards him and he could see in her eyes she was still strong enough to hurt him.

Before he could stop her or hit her with another attack she landed in front of him as if she was light as a feather. Time seemed to slow as her burnt, stabbed, and destroyed body slowly collapsed on him in what he could only describe as a hug. Her remaining arm trailed over his shoulder and her body gently came to rest on his own. He couldn't make heads or tails as to if this was an attack or if she had just died on her way down.

His answer came a second later as Gardevoir's forehead connected with his own. He felt her soft smooth flesh on his own for a second before his entire world was filled with pain. She had invaded his mind and he realized a second too late her Captivate attack had made him completely flat footed.

As his mind burned and he felt her reaching into his head he managed to organize enough of his thoughts to push her back into the air with Telekinesis attack. Her mental connection with him severed he felt his temples throb with pain at whatever she had managed to do inside his head. Looking up he saw her body almost float through the air slowly moving towards the mass of Pokemon below ready to rip her to shreds even if she was already dead by now.

Their meal was canceled, however, as a loud boom echoed through the clearing and a massive gust of wind blew past all of them knocking down some and sending the lighter ones getting knocked into the air. Kadabra looked up into the night sky to see, standing in the light of the moon, Lance riding atop Dragonite. The trainer grabbed a Pokeball from his waist and let the orb fly into the sky.

"Should I call this my falling Gyarados strike?" He said to himself as the ball released his red Gyarados.

The Pokemon was waiting for it's cue. As it began to fall towards the ground it opened it's mouth and let loose with a full blast hyper beam at the center mass of Pokemon. The horde fled in all directions but it's escape was hampered by the unruly state they all were running. As the beam hit down a good number were caught in the epicenter of the blast and even more were tossed away with such force their landing would be fatal simply due to the speed which they were thrown.

Before Gyarados could hit the ground Lance recalled the Pokemon and sat back down on Dragonite, "Let's go buddy we have to get Gardevoir help!" He said as the dragon shot off into the night sky with another sonic boom.

Kadabra was left surrounded but chaos and injured Pokemon. The crater had sent dust everywhere making retaliation impossible. Arbok slid up behind him and his hissing snickering could be heard.

"Ssseemsss thisss battle went rather well, don't you think?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Silence your hissing tongue worm." Kadabra snapped back as he started to asses the losses his army had suffered.


	31. Chapter 31

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 29th

Agatha's Inn

After Midnight

Clair felt her mind come into focus as she woke up from her sleep. She wasn't sure what time it was, or even if she should open her eyes, but she did know it wasn't yet dawn. She pulled the covers around her in a tighter bundle to try to ward off the late night chills she was having.

As she moved she heard a noise above her. In her sleep addled mind she couldn't tell what it sounded like. Cracking open an eye she glanced about the room only to see darkness and shadows. The rain had stopped and the clouds had started to move away allowing the moonlight

to stream into the room from the outside.

Sleeping next to her on another mattress Dawson didn't even twitch as she sat up and felt the chill air around her. She rubbed her eyes and let out a sigh. The cold around her was uncomfortable but she knew she couldn't get back to sleep immediately even if she wanted to. Standing up and climbing out of her bed in her pajamas she wrapped her nearby robe around herself and walked to the door.

Her mind clearing and waking slightly she slid open the room's door and headed out into the hallway. Once more the noise she had awoken to but couldn't place sounded again, but this time she saw movement at the edge of her sight. Pausing at the door's threshold she looking up and down the hall for any sign of movement. Seeing none she shrugged and attributed it to the ghosts inhabiting the inn.

Walking to the bathroom she slid open the door and her nose was hit with a stench that caused her to fall back against the wall. Before her eyes was a stairway down into the building's basement. After two steps down the rest of the stairs were completely covered by what she could only guess as hundreds of dead bodies of varying states of decay.

Reeling she closed her eyes and covered her nose while her brain tried desperately to figure out what she had seen. Opening her eyes she was met with the sight of the bathroom before her. It's lights were off but there was no stairs, no bodies, and the smell was there but it was the smell of a bathroom and not decaying corpses. She shook her head and closed her eyes to try to make sense of what happened.

Clair felt her mind come into focus as she woke up from her sleep. As the fog from her sleepy brain lifted she recalled what just happened and her eyes snapped open to the bedroom she and Dawson were sharing. The room's shadows and darkness were contrasted by the moonlight from outside seeping in from the windows. Dawson didn't even move as she sat up and looked about the room in confusion.

She tried to recall what just happened but all her memory managed to piece together was that she went to the bathroom and it smelled bad. She was sure there was something else to it but she couldn't put her finger on it. Trying to figure out what just happened made Clair completely miss Gengar stepping through the wall and look at her with a smile.

Finally looking up at the Pokemon she wondered for a moment if the ghost was going to attack her. Her fears fell away as the Gengar held up a sign to her. She blinked several times and shook her head, this was entirely too odd of an evening for her.

"No Gengar I do not 'need assistance'. Thank you for asking." Clair said, "I just need to use the bathroom then I'll go back to bed."

Standing up she grabbed the nearby robe and headed to the door. Gengar remained smiling as he melted back into the wall from where he arrived. Stepping out into the hallway Clair tried to clear up her mind as best she could. She knew something was going on but the combination of sleepiness and odd happenings were making it hard to focus. Making her way towards the bathroom she was sure she was missing something.

Opening the door she immediately put a hand to her nose and braced for the smell only to see the bathroom before her like the last time. After using the restroom and cleaning off her hands she looked at herself in the mirror. From her reflection she saw a pair of eyes belonging to one of the Ghastly. Turning around on the spot she watched as it hurried away.

It was then that she was able to connect the sound she heard when waking up with the sound the Ghastly made. The room was full of the ghosts when she woke up scurrying away as she moved. The idea that she was in a room full of ghosts when she slept disturbed her slightly.

"But what are they doing…" She mumbled to herself before heading to the door.

Stepping outside she moved towards the room when her brain made another connection. Looking at the wall she saw a handle built into it. Next to the bathroom the door was almost indistinguishable from the wall. Her eyes widened as she reached for the handle and pulled the door open.

The smell hit her like a truck as she stepped back and looked down at the stairs towards the corpse filled basement. Before she could even say anything, Gengar stepped through the wall. With the same smile it had before he pushed Clair from behind and sent her toppling down into the basement room.

Hitting the mass of bodied Clair let out a yell and tried to turn around as best she could. The corpses around her were causing her arms and legs to get caught and made moving difficult.

Before she could adjust herself she heard a voice that made her heart skip a beat.

"Such a pity you had to be so nosy. I had hoped to feast on you two for far longer than an evening." Gengar said as it stood at the top of the stairs it's voice soft and smooth at it talked while barely moving it's mouth, "Now it's time for you to go back to sleep Clair. If you see Agatha in the afterlife tell her that her Pokemon are doing well down here on earth." With his last word his eyes began to glow and Clair felt her mind grow numb and foggy as sleep took hold of her again.

As her eyes closed and her mind drift off she found herself falling into darkness. Her body weightless as all around her nothing could be seen. Her hands reached out and she desperately tried to grab onto anything to give her something to focus on but there was nothing around her. It was then she felt something on her skin.

Looking at her body as it fell through the blackness she saw her hands, slowly weathering and rotting away her body turning into a corpse like those she saw in the basement. At that thought she felt herself hit the ground. Reeling in pain she looked over at what she hit and saw it was the very bodies in the basement, their corpses stretching outward beyond sight.

Before she could register that she landed on thousands of dead bodies she felt pain shoot across her whole body. Looking down at her hands she saw what was causing it as her rotted flesh began to break and maggots began to crawl out of the holes. She screamed in pain and thrashed on the ground desperately trying to get them off her body.

During her frantic movement she began to feel something. Something over the pain and horror around her. Her body was starting to feel weaker, and weaker. Slowly and steadily she felt her strength start to drain away as she collapsed on the ground. Then as she lay on the ground of corpses, pain running through her entire body, she began to think.

Without the ability to fight it seemed like an insane thing to do, but with nothing else left to her it was the only thing she could do. Closing her eyes she started to think. It was odd thoughts at first. Wondering if she'd ever get her favorite food again or how well books and tv shows would survive the apocalypse. Once she started thinking of that it didn't take much to direct her thoughts to other more important questions.

Unlike when she woke up on her own thinking under the influence of the hypnosis was easier. Which made her wonder why she was put to sleep instead. It was then that she finally put two and two together.

"Dream eater." She mouthed as she felt the draining begin to lessen, "No dreams… no food."

Her eyes close and the pain in her body fading she felt her strength return as she constantly came up with more and more odd and unusual questions to ask herself. Why did we think this place was safe, why didn't we stay in the forest, how can that Gengar talk, and other thoughts flashed through her mind as she focused on her thoughts. Eventually she came upon the one question she needed to think.

"Why am I still asleep?" She asked opening her eyes and seeing a very shocked Gengar standing over her.

"WHAT THE HELL?" He screamed as Clair glared at him for a moment before drawing her Pokeball.

"DRAGONAIR HYPER BEAM!" She shouted as her dragon was released.

In the next second she closed her eyes as she felt the heat and light wash over her. She felt her skin burn a little bit and heard the Gengar let out a cry of pain as the sound of the blast filled the room. Once the heat fell away she opened her eyes to a large hole in the wall and roof letting moonlight steam into the inn. From where she was laying she saw the other Ghastly staring at her in shock. In the next moment they all fled rushing away through walls and doors to get away from her.

"Dragonair can you help me up?" She asked wrapping her arm around the dragon's neck.

As it gently pulled her up she found the smell had started to assault her nose again and she quickly rushed out of the basement with her Pokemon. Slamming the door behind her she took in a few lungfuls of clean air and let out a sigh of relief. Looking at her Pokemon as it worriedly nudged her side she wrapped her arms around Dragonair and held it close.

"I'm OK." She whispered to Dragonair, "I'm OK…" She said again to herself this time.

As she stood there she realized her legs were weak and her heart was beating faster than she ever thought possible. Taking deep breaths and closing her eyes she tried her best to calm down from the ordeal. After a few more seconds she opened her eyes and looked at Dragonair.

"We have to get to Dawson and get out of here." She said.

Dragonair nodded and let her towards the room. From behind her Clair heard an agonized yell that sounded like the Gengar. As she wondered how it could have survived a point black hyper beam to the face she heard something else that made her heart sink.

"DRAGONAIR DOWN!" She screamed pulling down the dragon down as a massive ball of purple energy blew overhead.

The attack took out the entire roof and most of the walls of the hallway she was walking down. Looking back she saw Gengar hovering in the night sky it's face contorted with rage as the hole in it's stomach slowly began closing up. She also saw several of the Ghastly scrambling for cover as Gengar readied another attack.

"You couldn't just take it could you! You couldn't just let us devour your dreams! Just like all the others, JUST LIKE AGATHA! YOU DON'T CARE THAT WE'RE STARVING, YOU DON'T CARE THAT WE NEED FOOD, YOU DON'T CARE AT ALL!" He screamed at her as the ball grew to the size of a small car.

Throwing the ball down at Clair she had just enough time to latch onto Dragonair as it bolted into the sky. The ball hit the ground of the inn sending out a shockwave that decimated the rest of the structure. As Clair headed into the sky she remembered that Agatha's Gengar had been in her possession since before she was born. She wondered just how much more powerful it was as she saw him forming another Shadow ball.

Before the ghost could launch the attack Clair saw a flash from the inn then another Hyper beam shoot out of the wreckage and hit Gengar directly, "TWO OUT OF FUCKING TEN ASSHOLE!" Screamed Dawson as he pushed over a beam that had fallen on him as his Gyarados raised itself out of the rubble, "Service was good but I couldn't get a wink of sleep!"

Now with two holes inside it's body Gengar's face contorted with rage to the point where it looked almost demonic, "Ghastly, time to do your job." He said with a sinister tone.

The ghastly hiding in the ruins looked up at their boss with fear bordering on terror. As they began to scatter away from Gengar he held out his hands and great sucking wind began to draw them all back in. Try as they might the Ghastly had no hope of getting away. Both Dawson and Clair hung onto their Pokemon as the wind pulled at them as well. In a few moments it was all over. Nearly all the Ghastly had been drawn into Gengar's body and only the trainers and the few ghosts were left.

Absorbing all of Agatha's ghosts had a profound effect on Gengar as the wounds on his body closed up almost immediately. He now hovered in front of the moon with a glowing purple aura which radiated power to such a degree even the humans could feel it from where they were. Raising his hand another shadow ball formed and this one was easily the size of a small house.

"Oh this is going to suck…" Clair and Dawson said at the same time as Gengar simply dropped the mass of energy on what was left of the inn.

"Dawson!" Clair screamed as she watched the trainer and Pokemon get sent flying backwards as they took the full brunt of the explosion.

As the two crashed and rolled into the woods Clair let out a sigh of relief as both trainer and Pokemon slowly got back up and looked at Gengar who was now floating in the center of the crater. Both Dawson and Gyarados were battered and bloodied from the attack as they looked at Gengar sneered at them with almost pity as he readied his next attack.

It was at this point that both trainers thought the situation couldn't get any worse. It was also a second later when a colossal roar echoed throughout the woods and a Nidoking burst forth from the trees like an avatar of anger. Gengar glanced at it from the side of it's vision with little more than passing interest before turning back to Dawson and readying his next shadow ball.

As Gengar readied himself to deal the finishing blow when the Nidoking charged forwards and leapt at the ghost from the edge of the crater. Crashing into the ghost the poison Nidoking bulldozed past where Gengar was hovering and used it's own body to smash him into the wall of the crater. From there it brought both it's arms down and proceeded to beat the impact area with a flurry of strikes sending dust and dirt everywhere.

Clair wasted no time and touched down where Dawson and Gyarados were recovering. Another explosion from a similarly sized Shadow ball convinced her she didn't have much time to get him up and both of them out of the area. Running over to the trainer she saw he was leaning against a tree wrapping his arm in what was left of the robe. Thankfully he didn't sleep naked as he still had his briefs on.

"Clothes ruined, sleep ruined, INN RUINED I think the only thing we got out of this mess was a decent meal." He said irritably, "Going back over the mountain is going to be impossible now."

His complaints were cut off as a Hyper beam of immense strength tore through the ground and woods. The two Pokemon were still fighting and both Clair and Dawson realized it was going to suck for them regardless of the winner. A pulse from inside the crater battleground hit them and both trainer and Pokemon doubled over in pain as Gengar's Dark Pulse clipped them from where he was fighting.

"We have to get out of here." Clair shouted.

"Not possible," Dawson said back, "We have no supplies and the rocket base is more than a day away without food and clothes." His explanation was interrupted by Nidoking getting flung out of the crater and crashing into the trees. A loud roar told them it wasn't out of the fight yet, "Without any supplies we'll never make it back! Plus we can't lead them back to the base."

"You're not seriously expecting to fight them are you!" Clair shouted aghast.

"YES!" Dawson shouted back grabbing her by the shoulders, "Clair we can't keep running, we can't keep surviving like this. I'm not going to keep surviving like this!" He said staring into her eyes.

"God damn it." Clair said giving him a look that said 'I'll kill you for this later', "What's the plan?" She asked.

"Wait till one wins then hit the other with as much firepower as we can level into it!" He said as from inside the crater an arm got sent out flying towards them.

Dodging to the side the trainers looked and saw the spines on top of Nidokings arm as it came to rest near them. From inside the crater an anguished roar came out that shook the trees before slowly dying. Next came Nidoking's entire body, or what was left of it as it had several larges holes inside of it and it's lower half completely annihilated.

Slowly and inexorably Gengar rose from the pit. It's smiling face staring at the two trainers as the scars from it's battle slowly began to heal. Raising it's hand it began to charge another Shadow orb in it's final attack to end the trainers.

"Now for you tw-" He began

"HYPER BEAM!" Dawson shouted.

The blast blew the leaves off the tree around them as Gyarados let loose with it's full force blast at the Gengar. Both trainers shielded their faces from the heat as they watched it hit Gengar full on. The beam faded and the ghost remained, his body smoldering and his smile replaced by a look of pure rage. Lifting up his hand again he readied his shadow ball.

"HYPER BEAM!" Clair then shouted.

While not as powerful as Gyarados, comparing the two would be like comparing different levels of a hurricane. The blast shot forth and enveloped the Gengar again. The ghost had no choice but to let it's attack dissipate and start dodging. Diving into the ground it let it's insubstantial form move into the dirt. He fumed as he moved underground towards the two trainers and their Pokemon.

"Hyperbeam isn't supposed to even hurt me, I've dealt with it before! Why now?" He thought to himself angling upwards and bursting forth from the ground.

What he expected to see was the two trainers right in front of him. A simple shadow ball at close range and finish them off while he tanked the damage from the attack. What he saw was woods, broken branches, and the sky above. The woods he was standing in exploded shortly after.

Gyarados closed it's mouth as it's last hyper beam blew apart the area around where the Gengar had shot up from the ground. Dawson and Clair both leapt down from Dragonair and looked over at the smoke and clouds that now occupied the area. With a nod from her trainer Dragonair charged the small ball on her neck and whipped her head towards the clouds of dirt.

A wave of electricity shot outwards towards the smoke and then through. The Thunder Wave attack succeeded in hitting its target as from inside the two trainers saw the silhouette of Gengar followed shortly by it's cry of pain as the electricity from the attack surged through it's body. Stationary, shocked, and unable to move both trainers and their Pokemon set their sights on ending the battle.

"Best attack you've got Clair!" Dawson said.

"Maximum power, one hundred and twenty percent Dawson!" She replied.

"Dragon Rage!" They both shouted.

The two dragons nodded then reared both their heads back in perfect synch. Balls of energy formed at their mouths and grew until both were the size of a car. They held their stance for just a moment before whipping the balls of energy towards Gengar. The shots flew through the air and as they approached the Gengar drew together forming a single sphere that was twice the size of each and glowed like a sun.

Gengar could barely move his body from where he was. The explosion blew another hole in him and the cloud of dust made it impossible to see around himself. Then his body was struck by a wave of electricity and he found himself unable to move as he spasmed from the energy. Soon after, from the corner of his eye, he saw a glow from outside the cloud. It was when he saw the light intensify to the same brightness as a sun did he realize it was all over. As it approached he had just enough time to close his eyes before the sphere of energy washed over him and annihilated him down to composite particles.

Clair and Dawson watched as the dual Dragon rage smashed into the cloud, into Gengar's body, into the forest behind him, and continue for quite a ways away before it finally hit something that could actually stop it. Then they watched as the attack proceeded to explode with enough force to knock them, Dragonair, and Gyarados flat on their asses from the shockwave.

Looking up from where she lay Clair could only hear a ringing sound in her ears as she looked around. Dazed and somewhat shocked at the explosion, which managed to take up a good section of her vision despite its distance away, she shook her head and looked over at Dawson. She knew he was talking as his mouth was moving but all she could hear was the ringing sound.

Sitting back against Dragonair, who looked just as winded as she was, she let out what she hoped was a sigh and looked up at the stars. Her body ached and at the same time she wanted to go back to bed. As she lay back against her dragon companion she realized how cold it was and shifted her body so it was closer to the warmth of her Pokemon.

Her mind struggled to keep up with the last few minutes of action but now that she was leaning on Dragonair it just gave up. After an entire day of running, then dealing with miserable conditions, then having her own energy drained out of her by the ghosts, and then finally having to deal with the nightmare of Gengar she just couldn't keep awake even with her blood pumping through her veins. It didn't help that Dragonair was acting like a giant pillow for her.

Dragonair slid it's body around her wrapping her trainer in her warmth. Clair let out a sigh and wished she could stay like this for a few more hours. Just as she was getting comfortable Dragonair slid her body open a bit more and Dawson was unceremoniously dropped next to her. While she was sure he had complained about his treatment she still had issues hearing. She didn't need to however as Dragonair closed around the two of them. Gyarados then wrapped his body around them and placed his head over the the three forming a nest for the two humans.

Clair would have said something to Dawson doing something untoward her but at this moment, surrounded by the warmth of her Pokemon and feeling the adrenaline drain from her system all she could do was lean against her dragon and feel her eyes begin to close. She managed one last glance over at Dawson who had apparently given up on protesting and followed her example of just letting sleep take him. Shortly after she felt herself give in to exhaustion.

"They're finally asleep." Dragonair said looking over the two humans.

"Good." Gyarados replied.

"I… can't believe Gengar was so far gone… I had known him before. He was always so level headed. Agatha had him for years." She said.

"He said something about them slating his hunger." He said.

"Do you think he needed humans to feed on?" She asked.

"Couldn't say. You should sleep, I'll keep watch." he said.

"I'm not that tired-" She said in protest before he cut her off.

"Yes you are. Go sleep, I'll keep us safe. I worked the least regardless." He said looking down at her, "I'll keep you safe."

She looked up at the giant serpent as he stared back. After a few moments she nodded and rested her head near Clair's. As Gyarados kept watch he constantly checked both the upper half of Nidokings body and the blast zone where Gengar was annihilated. He was sure the two were dead but after he saw them and their insane power levels he didn't take anything for granted.

While the giant serpent kept watch, another set of eyes watched him from the shadows of the trees.


	32. Chapter 32

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 30th

Agatha's Inn remains

Dawson felt his eyes begin to flutter open as a drop of water hit his face. Opening an eye he looked about and found himself in a strange position. Clair was next to him leaning on her Dragonair like himself. She was still asleep as was Dragonair whose head was past Clair's own. The entire setup felt surreal as he started to look about.

His eyes were drawn upwards as he saw his Gyarados staring down at him from above. Like Dragonair his body was wrapped around the trio. The drop of water that had hit his face had come from his scales as they gathered condensation from the morning mist. Rubbing away the last bit of weariness from his eyes Dawson looked back up and held out his hands for his Pokemon.

Gyarados brought his head down and let his trainer grab onto his facial horns. With a firm grip Dawson hung on as he was lifted out of the Pokemon wrap and placed on the ground outside. Before he could even do anything he felt his stomach grown painfully and realized he was starving.

With a sigh he headed over to the ruins on where he slept for part of the night in the Inn and began to carefully weave in and out of the wrecked floors and walls. He wasn't sure what would survive after their battle last night but it was worth checking. As he made it to what was left of the room he looked over towards the center of the inn and saw the crater Gengar had made with one of his Shadow balls.

A large pool of steaming water had gathered overnight and looked to have filled while they were sleeping. Knowing it would make for a good bath later Dawson went back to work moving aside pieces of roof and wall looking for his and Clair's equipment. As he began to stack the debris in piles to clear them out of the way he heard someone approaching from behind him.

"Find anything?" Clair asked.

She was slightly better off than him due to her pajamas covering her entire body. Dawson had only managed to find his pants at this point and was left shirtless as he moved pieces of lumber around. The labor was, at the moment, the only thing keeping his body warm. Clair was also slightly worse off as her clothes attracted the moist air and made them less than effective at keeping her warm.

"Pants… beyond that not enough to make the trip back tolerable. If we go over the mountains we can get back within a day but if we have to go around we'll be stuck out here for another two to three days which runs us into the issue of food and water." He said lifting up another part of the wall, "Well there's my pack at least."

Pushing over the wall he reached down and picked up his soaked backpack. The combination of rain, swimming in the lake, then sitting outside during the morning had made every last thing inside soaked through. The majority of clothes were intact at least and Dawson quickly tossed on a spare shirt despite it's dampness. Tossing over his pack he let Clair pick out something to wear herself while he went back to turning over the rubble.

"Least the crater is full of warm water so we'll be able to take a bath at least." Dawson said trying to cheer himself up.

"No, we actually won't." Clair replied putting on one of his shirts while watching to make sure he wasn't looking, "I checked the pool, The bottom half of Nidoking is in there still. Even if it wasn't a poison type I wouldn't want to use the same water it's been bleeding in all night. The springs are pretty much tainted now."

"Oh this day keeps getting better and better." Dawson said bitterly his attitude getting worse as his stomach growled again, "I really hope we don't have to go without food."

"The lake is nearby, couldn't we just catch a Magikarp and cook that?" Clair asked.

"I suppose but Magikarp requires a ton of prep work to be even edible. It just isn't worth it for the most part. Goldeen I could probably manage… either way without a fishing rod it would take too much time, the best thing we can do is hope some of the food survived." Dawson said, "Hey do you think the basement of this place survived? If we're lucky they might have some stores there!"

Clair shuddered slightly and looked over at the rubble that currently covered the basement stairs, "No… there's nothing in the basement we could use." She said with a grimace.

"You OK Clair? You look kinda put off." Dawson said.

"I'm OK, just… don't ask about it." She said.

Dawson shrugged and went back to work choosing to let the matter drop. After another hour of work the two looked down at all the supplies that managed to survive. Dawson couldn't help but sigh at the uselessness of some of the items.

"Hey don't sigh just because I still have my shotgun." Clair said.

It, along with Dawson's machete were two of the objects that made it through the battle. Some of the tins of food he managed to pack for the tip also made it out in one piece and the two of them were currently munching on their contents heedless of the fact that they hadn't been cooked.

The sleeping bags, some more of Dawson's clothes, and the food they were currently eating was the extent of what survived the battle. It was only his inbuilt paranoia that allowed Dawson's Pokeballs to survive as he never let them off his belt while sleeping. While the trainers and their Pokemon had come through with little harm the fact that all their stuff was destroyed irked both quite a bit.

"So what are we going to do about our stalker?" Clair asked tilting her head towards the woods.

Standing up Dawson tossed away the empty can and gave his body a few quick stretches, "Gyarados want to convince our friend to come out of hiding?" He asked.

Whipping his head around the giant serpent fired off a blast of energy at the woods. The ball flew outwards from his jaws and blew off the top of the trees before exploding some distance away. The resulting attack left a sizable hole in the treeline. Both trainers watched the area as the leaves and branches fell to the ground.

From behind one of the trunks a purple form peeked over the stump at the two humans and their Pokemon. Raising a disembodied hand it formed into a small flag which Haunter waved back and forth above him. Behind him two other pairs of eyes looked outwards as they hid behind the more evolved of the ghosts.

"Is there a reason we should blow away these assholes right here and now?" Dawson asked bitterly, "Especially the annoying one?" He said glaring at the Haunter as it cowered behind the tree.

"Yes… I want to know why." Clair said standing up and walking toward the ghosts, "Well… the only thing keeping you from getting shot at again is me… so tell me why."

Haunter looked up at her then back to his two companions. With a hand he signaled them back then floated out into the clearing. His hands were nervously holding onto themselves as he refused to make eye contact with the gym leader. As he approached he heard Gyarados growl and Dawson's voice from behind Clair.

"That's close enough." He said with clear and hostile intent in his voice.

Knowing he wouldn't get another chance Haunter began moulding his hands into the same cartoony images the two trainers had seen last night. As he began describing what happened the both Clair and Dawson watched him with suspicious eyes as their Pokemon stood behind them ready to attack in needed. Eventually his story wound down and he finally made eye contact looking at the trainers with pleading sorrowful eyes.

"OK I have no clue what he just told us…" Dawson said, "I kind heard him saying words though which was kinda weird but as for understanding I'm at a loss."

Clair turned to him with a surprised expression, "You heard the words too?" She asked getting a nod in return, "Wait we can deal with that later, I think what he told us was… well it seemed like being Agatha's Pokemon for so long made them REALLY strong. Because of that when that chaotic night happened they got even more powerful."

"Yeah and Agatha had a heart attack because of that." Dawson said noting haunter looking away with shame.

"No I don't think so Dawson… I think, from what I understood, their power made them burn through energy much faster than normal. That meant that they needed more life energy." She replied.

"Which they got from Agatha and the patrons of the inn I imagine." Dawson said.

"There's no need to imagine, I saw the bodies." Clair said, "I don't understand why they didn't try to limit themselves though."

Haunter responded to her last statement by making some more examples with it's hand. It formed a generic human. With a single action it drew a line from the human to its other hand and the line poofed into a small cracker. With it's next action it drew a bigger line from the human hand and this time the image fell over and died with it's other hand turning into a large bird dinner with a poof.

"So just taking less wasn't enough?" She asked which Haunter nodded somberly.

It then changed its hands again to form the Gengar. The cartoon Gengar proceeded to smack the other hand, which changed to Ghastlys, and pointing out orders and actions to them. A single one stood up to Gengar and got stepped on in return.

"Gengar which was the most powerful and most hungry ended up bossing the rest of you around?" Clair asked which Haunter replied with another nod.

"Cry me a fucking river then." Dawson said crossing his arms and leaning against Gyarados, "I hardly think being hungry and bullied is an excuse for going along with murder."

Haunter fell to the ground and hit its head to the dirt while it's hands lay prostrate before it. It let out a sobbing cry which both trainers were able to understand. Dawson was unmoved and Clair wasn't much better.

"Saying I'm sorry isn't going to cut it for ending someone's life asshole." He said.

Clair looked back at the ghost as it groveled before her, "He's right." She said her voice hardening, "What you ghosts did was abhorrent and I'm sure Agatha would be ashamed of you all. But I'm not going to kill you." She said expecting Dawson to protest but only heard silence from him, "As much as I want to make sure you can't hurt anyone else we don't have the time to fight you. If you are really sorry find some way to deal with you hunger without killing."

Dawson recalled Gyarados and summoned Togekiss to his side, "Clair we're running short on time as is." He said to her before looking over at the Haunter, "Follow us and we will rethink that 'don't have enough time to kill you' policy."

The look he gave Haunter as they got on their Pokemon convinced it that he was being very serious about it.

Forest

Kadabra stood on a hill overlooking his army as it readied itself for the next stage of his plan. With Gardevoir out of the way he had free reign to begin wider mental scans of the area for more Pokemon to 'convince' to join him. He had already had a good amount of success with two Ursaring who had started to move into the area. Convincing them required little more than telling them that humans had settled near them and they were ready to drive them out or kill them.

As much as he like to try to get some of the humans Pokemon to betray them a quick scan of all their minds made it abundantly clear they would rather rip out his throat then work with him. His murder of Gardevoir made them despise him even more now. Even the more neutral ones like the Mareep or Ponyta had no love for him after he killed one of the human children.

"How much longer will we have to wait?" Arbok said sliding up the hill towards him.

"Your patience is appreciated, one last check of the area then we march on the humans." He said, "Without the psychic, their two other trainers, and the fatigue we've brought upon them they have no hope of winning now."

"Planning on giving a ssspeach to the troops, the onesss you haven't mind controlled anywaysss?" Arbok said looking up at him.

"Yes I suppose that would… what do the humans call it? 'rally the troops?" Kadabra said standing up and heading to the edge of the hill.

Before he began speaking Kadabra rubbed his head from a sudden onset of pain. From behind Arbok watched him with narrowed eyes. He despised the psychic even if it was his actions that saved his life. As Kadraba began addressing the army he had amassed he knew he couldn't do anything now he had such a massive power base.

"Fellow Pokemon, I stand before you now to tell you of the great destiny we have been given. Thanks to lord Ho-oh we have been given the power to take back our world from the damnable humans that overrun it like vermin. Under the care of it's true masters we will bring our world back from the polluted, toxic, garbage filled waste it has become and bring it back to the paradise we all know it to be. It will not be easy and it will not be quick, but starting today with the elimination of those vermin within their walls of metal and stone we will take the first step towards the garden of eden that awaits us!" Kadabra said his voice echoing throughout the forest.

The Pokemon's response was equally loud as the varied cries of the assembled creatures shook the trees around them as the army began to march towards the Rocket base.

Rocket base

The interior of the base was chaotic as the sounds of crying and sobbing filled the air. Lance had just come back in from spending his morning burying Gardevoir. Even if he had gotten back instantly the damage was far too severe for even Chansey to heal. He was more unnerved about the small smile upon her damaged face despite her death. He couldn't help but think how serene she looked. A far cry from the interior of the base.

He had found out the children had woken up immediately in the middle of the night, he surmised because of the psychics death, and had started crying uncontrollably. It was nearly impossible to get a word out from them edgewise due to their distraught state. It made sleeping impossible for the dragon trainer who felt his time would be more productive burning Gardevoir.

As he approached the room he saw something else that shocked him. Steven was standing outside the main sleeping room. He was staring off into space before he saw the trainer approach. Looking at him he walked down an adjoining hallway after giving him a look that compelled him to follow.

"Should you be up and awake?" Lance asked as the sound of crying grew more distant.

"Could you rest in that room?" Steven asked bitterly as his hand squeezed his arm.

"Does your arm hurt?" He asked.

"No… I just… I… No it doesn't hurt." The boy said trying to say something else but failing.

"I wish we knew the reason everyone else is so distraught." He said sadly leaning against the wall opposite the boy, "I need everyone to be ready after so many attacks and if you kids can't-"

"Those kids." Steven said interrupting, "And they're broken up after Gardevoir died."

"She really meant a lot to you kids." Lance said.

"No… not that, and it's those kids." He said, "It was when she died… we all remember now. She had done something to our heads. Something to make us forget. Now its not there and the others aren't really taking it well."

"You seem to be OK with it." Lance wondered aloud.

"I… I lost my arm. Knowing my parent's, my home, even May are all gone seems less painful now." He said struggling to admit his personal loss.

Suddenly both turned towards the main sleeping room as a voice cut over the children's crying. Both turned to each other then rushed off towards the room. Steven made it a few steps before stumbling only to be caught by Lance.

"I don't need your help!" He snapped.

"Yes you do, and the sooner you admit that you do-" Lance said helping him along from his good side, "-the sooner you can live up to that adult title you've given yourself."

Steven said nothing as the two made it back to the room only to hear Rosemary's voice ring out through the hallway, "Enough! You've all had half the night to cry out your tears and it's time to get back to living now." She said with obvious irritation, "I know it hurts but knowing what happened to your parents will only lessen when you face it and realize they wouldn't want you to keep crying like this!"

"B- but mommy's dead… I- I wanna be with mommy." Rachael said.

Rosemary walked over to the girl and kneeled down to her, "I know sweetie but my sister would be heartbroken if she saw you like this. I miss my sister too but we can't dwell on this, there's too much at stake." She looked up at the other children, "I need you all to be strong for us adults. If you keep crying we might too and nothing would get done. So please be strong for us, for just a little while." She said to quiet nods from the other children.

Before Lance could say anything to Rosemary he, along with everyone else in the building heard a massive roar coming from hundreds of different Pokemon. It was loud enough that it was distinguishable even from where they were inside the base. The dragon trainer felt fear grip his heart as he turned and ran down the hallway to the outside.

Rocket base rear

Mightyena's fangs sunk deeply into the last of the Rattata's throat. Tossing the Pokemon aside he slinked into the building from one of the few open windows the other Pokemon had attempted to enter into the building from. Behind him two others followed in his footsteps silently climbing in and taking up positions within the shadows of the room.

"In and out, no time wasted. The Kadabra will be here soon and I have no desire to get caught up in this blood feud." The pack leader said.

The three Pokemon slinked silently through the base. Shadows were abundant as the humans had pulled their Pokemon inside and hadn't had the luxury of being able to recharge the base. No recharge meant less lights being powered and less power to the lights that were on. With such an glut of places to slink and hide the pack leader wondered if the Rattata were meant to sneak in much like he was doing now.

He put the thought out of his mind as he approached one of the few well lit rooms left in the building. Voices could be heard from inside as the group approached from the darkness of the hallway. Panic and uncertainty had filled the room when the sound of the army of Pokemon was heard. As one of the men ran out of the room he could hear the children huddling together while the adults tried to calm them down.

He was thankful of the rooms multiple entrances as he approached the far door. He was even more thankful that the Pokemon nurse's bunk was near the door he peered in from. The pup lay on the bed watching with confusion at the unease that gripped the room. It took only a few moments before his nose sniffed the air and his ears perked up.

Turning his head he looked at the door and caught sight of the Alpha as he stood near the door. With a single nod from the Mightyena leader, Poochyena climbed down from the bed and darted over. No one paid him any mind as he scampered across the floor, out the door, past the expectant Alpha, and into the furry embrace of his two parents.

The alpha's ears drooped slightly that the pup simply blew past him but let his perceived injustice slide at the sight of his packmates happy reunion with their wayward child. For humans it might have been a short time since they last saw their child. For a Pokemon it might as well have been forever. Another echoing roar could be heard and he felt his ears flip back as he knew someone had set off the army.

"Enough cuddling you two, we're leaving now." He said turning down the dark hallway and heading towards their entrance.

"Sir… they saved our child, can we not help them?" The father asked looking at his leader.

"We can, but we won't. This is not our affair. Any sense of obligation you might have needs to be reminded of the Pokemon we lost when we first met these humans." He said bitterly, "We will not aid these humans nor will we hinder them. They have their own problems and we have ours. Now move out."

The father chose not to press the issue as he had many times before. The result was always the same. He didn't hate his leader for this decision but it saddened him he would never get the chance to thank the Pokemon nurse for her aid.

As the group approached the window the alpha went first scurrying over the edge then turning around and looking back over for the other two. Poochyena's mother lifted the pup but the scruff of his neck and passed it to the alpha. Soon the parents followed their pup outside and the group bolted off into the woods.

"It's about time you got back." Clefairy said with worried tones.

"Should we have been worried with you on watch?" The alpha asked.

"What… No, I was just concerned that Kadabra might send more to try and get into the building. I… I didn't want to fight them." She said sadly.

"I wonder why." The alpha asked rhetorically, "Let's move out!"

As the pack headed off into the woods the pups father and mother stayed behind for a moment. The father put the pup onto his mothers back and the next moment she was off after the pack. The father then looked at Clefairy and tilted his head towards his back.

"I… I still feel nervous. Is it really OK for me to come with you?" She asked her stubby hands playing with themselves as she asked.

"You provided a service to our pack, and even now you are useful in the eyes of our Alpha. Don't worry about it, it's not uncommon for packs to accept strays." He said with a smile, "And besides you're not THAT heavy."

"What! Why I never!" Clefairy said with indignity as she climbed on the back of the Mightyena and the two of them headed off after the rest of the pack.

Outside

Lance had just made it past the door when Dragonite rushed over to him. Wordlessly he lept onto the back of his Pokemon and they both took off. Before they gained too much altitude he signaled to Torterra.

"Get the Mareep and Ponyta into the dock shed where the food is, Gyarados keep an eye on the treeline I don't want anything sneaking up while I'm checking things out." He said.

With that Dragonite gained altitude and began to fly larger and larger circles around the base. It didn't take long to find the mass of Pokemon advancing on their base. The columns of dust caused by the movement of hundreds of feet along with the flock of Murkrow above it was pretty obvious once the trainer had gained sufficient height.

It took only a pass at a distance for lance to get the full scope of what was bearing down on him and the others A large army of mid to late level evolutions. Hundreds in total supported by a flock of Murkrow that were surprisingly well disciplined. They were still a ways away from the base but he knew he needed to get back and begin preparing. Even with all the Pokemon they had they were hopelessly outnumbered.

Kadabra watched from the ground as the Dragonite and rider turned around and headed back to the Rocket base, "Isss it a good idea to let them sssee usss?" Arbock asked.

"It matters not, even knowing what he does he won't be able to affect our war march. We shall arrive in an hour or so and simply overrun the building. Even if the other trainers were there it wouldn't affect the outcome." The psychic replied.

Kadabra ignored any further attempts at conversation with the snake. He had to maintain focus on the psychically controlled Pokemon to make sure his mental shackles were strong enough to override their natural survival instincts. While his plan was to simply win with weight of numbers he wasn't so callous as to waste the Pokemon that actually followed him. The mind controlled puppets would serve as a fine first wave of pawns in this battle. The more the humans killed the more power he would have at later points in time to direct towards them.

He could hardly hide his anticipation at the upcoming battle. He would finally rid the world of these thorns that had been bothering him and take his place at the side of Ho-oh in eliminating the wretched creatures from this world. When he and his army were done here they would make an excellent force to offer for a prestigious position at the god Pokemon's side.

"Soon… soon this battle will be done and I can finally join him and help bring this world back to it's rightful place under the care of Pokemon. My only regret is that Clefairy didn't have the strength of will to be here with me…" He thought as his army continued it's march on the base.


	33. Chapter 33

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 30th

Rocket base.

"Alright guys… here's the lowdown." Lance said to the assembled Pokemon before him.

The group was pitifully small in his eyes. His own Gyarados and Dragonair, Dawson's Torterra, and the three Flaaffy who insisted on taking part in the combat. The others had retreated inside the base and were with the children. They were the last line of defense and as much as he wanted them out here fighting alongside the other Pokemon he knew the children needed them more than he did.

"Hundreds of Pokemon are approaching with clear intent to kill us all. I don't know why or how this came about but I do know I will die before I let a single one of them hurt those children." He said looking at the concerned faces of the Pokemon before him, "That being said I have no intention of dying or letting any of you die."

He picked up a stick he had gathered earlier and began drawing on the ground. A square represented the rocket base and the circle beneath it was clearly the lake of rage. From that he drew several half circles around the base and a triangle pointed towards the square outside those.

"The army isn't able to do complex maneuvers I know that much. Even with the best general in the world the force is too numerous and too diverse to be able to organize effectively. That means they're coming from here." He said pointing at the triangle, "So we have to make sure they pay in blood for every inch they take towards us. Ideally I'd like time to prepare traps but we don't have that luxury. What we have is a group of Pokemon that can lay down firepower that can decimate the army. The plan is this. We set up three defensive points along this attack corridor they'll be taking. First will be the woods. This will be the first line of defense and the first we fall back from. Our goal here isn't to damage them, it's to cause as much havoc and chaos as we can to slow them down. Don't worry about about hitting anything specific, just fire and don't stop until you get the signal."

"Signal?" Lance heard his Dragonair ask.

The dragon trainer blinked a few times at what he thought he heard then shook it off before continuing, "The signal will be Torterra." He said pointing a stick at the surprised Pokemon, "As soon as you see them return fire hit the area with an earthquake. Wreck the place. When the shock from that ends fall back to the field. From there the second defense point begins. The name of the game is firing line. I want you guys to stagger your shots." He got several confused looks from the Pokemon not belonging to him, "Wait for someone else to shoot before firing yourself. It's a way to conserve energy. We're going to do that until they get half way then I want you to go to work again Torterra. This time I need a specific type of earthquake. We need a crack in the middle of the field. The goal with the second line is divide and conquer. Draw them in after we retreat from the first line, then destroy the isolated forces. The last line of defense is where we make our last stand."

Lance saw the group of Pokemon shift nervously at his wording. He realized this was a first for him. He knew Pokemon could understand human language to an extent but this was the first time he was not only able to get a complex strategy explained to them but also the first time he saw them reacting in such a human way. Even his own Dragonite which he worked with for years was more understanding these days. To say nothing of the fact that he could swear he heard him talking occasionally.

"I told you we're not going to die. This is just the last defense point. We retreat from there we're holding the line with the children. I know none of you want that so we have to have dealt enough damage to this army to make sure that doesn't happen. Now we have a few minutes until we need to be in position, take this time to get ready for the fight." He said standing up from his dirt drawn diagram.

He turned and headed inside. He moved through the hallways with urgent intent. Eventually he made it to the sleeping quarters to find them empty much to his relief. He needed all of the non combatants to be in their proper place otherwise this wasn't going to work. A voice broke him out of his thoughts as he turned to see Joy heading towards him.

"A- Are we really going to have to fight?" She asked as she approached.

"Not 'we' Joy. It's just me and the Pokemon, you have to stay with the others to keep them safe. I know Eric and Rosemary will be with the children but I trust you the most to keep them calm and safe. You'll have the Mareep with you as well incase some get through." He said looking at her.

Before she could reply another voice echoed up the hallway as Eric ran towards them, "Lance! Lance! I got something for you before you head out!" He shouted.

"What is it?" The dragon trainer asked.

"It's something Dawson left behind apparently, come on!" He said signaling the two.

Joy and Lance looked at each other for a moment before rushing after the mechanic as he ran back down the hallway. As they followed they entered the main computer room where the children and Mareep waited. After Eric's discovery he made sure to clear out enough of the area to use as a gathering room should Pokemon attack or the weather turning dangerously foul. It was the most secure area of the building and Eric's second discovery made it the best place to hold up in an emergency.

The Mareep looked nervous but compared to the children they were downright serene. Knowing an army was marching on their home combined with Gardevoir's death and the psychic blocks being lifted had done a number on them. Lance remembered talking to Surge once about the war he was a part of. The electric gym leader described something that fit what he saw these kids acting like, 'Shell shock'.

Eric paid them little mind as he moved past some stairs downward and opened a closet door. Lance looked in and found himself somewhat stunned at what he saw inside. Along the walls and boxes were rows of hand made spears, machetes, and other various basic weapons. Dozens upon dozens lined the rows. If Lance had time to count he'd have wagered even close to a hundred weapons were inside the small room.

"God damn…" Lance said.

"Apparently Dawson was busy when he wasn't sleeping. This should help you in the battle." Eric said with a smile.

"I'll say it will." Lance replied walking into the room, "Thanks Eric, now take Joy and the others and get ready for the battle."

"Right, Good luck friend." Eric said patting him on the shoulder before heading towards the children and Mareep with Joy in tow.

The rumbling of the ground had started half an hour ago. Lance was leaning against a tree with his back to the direction of the army when he first heard it. The other Pokemon had taken positions nearby and were waiting along side him for his signal to attack. The sound had been a murmur at first growing steadily until it was a constant rumble. Occasionally he'd hear a burst of cries from the army's direction but none never lasted that long. Something was in that army keeping them in check, he knew that much.

He could feel the weight of the spear in his hand and the others tied to his back. A large machete rested at his side. It's weight along with the other weapons gave him an odd feeling. He had fought hundreds of battles with his Dragonite. This was the first one he felt he was fighting alongside his Dragonite.

He looked over at the large dragon as he stood a dozen feet away. He was starting to notice small changes to his body. He looked tougher. His limbs no longer as smooth but now had distinct muscles to them. Legs were more toned and his wings had grown. This was nothing compared to the speed his Pokemon could reach now. Lance always knew his Pokemon was fast but when they recovered Gardevoir he could barely hang on when Dragonite went in to catch her.

He shook his head and focused his mind. He knew the army would be within range soon. The timing of this barrage had to be perfect. If he struck too soon only the trees would get destroyed, too late and not enough collateral damage would be done.

Leaning over to the side Lance glanced out into the forest. He could finally begin to see the army. He couldn't make anything past the first column but seeing the same Tangela that had attacked Joy and the others when they first met made him realize whoever was behind this was likely planning the attack for a long while.

"Hold…" He said to the others, "Hold…" His hand began to sweat as the army got closer, "Hold…" He muttered one last time, "NOW! FIRE!" He shouted.

Around him the forest erupted in fire and explosions. Dragonair and Gyarados were the closest to him when they both fired Hyper Beams into the woods. He realized this was a mistake as the blasts not only hit him with the shockwave but did a number on his ears as he could only hear ringing afterwards.

He grit his teeth and looked past the tree he took cover behind and inspected the result of the first barrage. Several of the trees were starting to fall over and the army had several large corridors within it's ranks. The result of the Hyper Beams and other attacks. The downside was that Dragonite and Gyarados now had to recharge.

While he couldn't hear himself so well over the ringing he shouted to his Pokemon anyways, "Dragonair, Gyarados next hyper beam sweep it along the army's front line!" He said seeing the flashes and leaf barrage from the Flaaffy and Torterra.

Both Pokemon nodded and as the seconds past they felt their energy return. The next barrage Lance had the foresight to cover his ears at the beams shot out from the two. Trees were blasted apart and the energy beams swept outward annihilating the forward ranks of the Pokemon army. As even more of the forest crashed down in front of them he saw that all good things must come to an end. Shots started to rain down in their midst and he knew they had to fall back.

"Alright everyone fall back!" He said pulling out Gyarados' pokeball, "Torterra!"

"Reform into your group!" Kadabra shouted to those around him, "Poison and grass return fire!"

The initial barrage completely caught Kadabra off guard. The sudden surge of firepower coming from the woods in front of them blew into his mind controlled front ranks blowing them away in an instant. With a single wave of attacks he lost his front line of pawns. The remaining survivors were thrown forwards to absorb the next barrage. The others using this respite to start returning fire.

It was limited at best as the woods getting destroyed in front of them blocked any chance they had of seeing what was shooting them. The trunks of the trees were blown away leaving only the leaves and branches falling down afterwards. He only had a limited number of Pokemon that could fire such high powered shots and they were near the center of the army to keep them safe.

What further surprised him was it was only two waves of shots that hit his army. The woods grew strangely quiet after them. It was then that the earthquake hit. Shockwaves shot though Kadabra's army and sent hundreds of his Pokemon falling to the ground and collapsing around them. The result was utter catastrophe in their first engagement.

"Organize yourselves back into your groups! Get back into formation now!" Kadabra shouted as his army did it's best to find themselves.

Delayed for several minutes he found himself fuming at the delay. This was further compounded by the now difficult terrain the ruined forest made. If his troops were better organized he would have tried to go around but the Pokemon available to him had little in the way of military training. After much waiting and watching his army was finally moving again.

Mentally he kicked himself. The fact that he had sent the smaller Pokemon ahead of the army as a vanguard was a mistake. They not only got killed before they could even get inside the base but their skills would have been better spent acting as forward scouts. As it was now, he could only send the remaining Tangela ahead to keep an eye out for any other ambushes. The only silver lining was his ability to begin using future sight again as his mind was less taxed with keeping the mind control up.

It hardly mattered as the army broke through the woods and entered the large field near the base, "We're almost there… what are they…" He said as he looked towards the end and saw Lance standing alongside all the Pokemon at the other end of the field, "It matters not, CHARGE!" He shouted as the army surged forwards.

Organizing and collecting themselves after an attack was far beyond the Pokemon's ability and intelligence. Charging forward while screaming was not. The Rattata, Raticate, Nidos, Ekans and others was Kadabra's second line of troops. Those not strong enough to evolve or whose evolutions were considered worthless.

"It still doesn't pay not to take care… Murkrow attack them and break up that firing line." Kadabra commanded as the birds took off from behind him.

Most, while fed, were still hungry and needed little prompting to attack people and Pokemon. Kadabra knew they would tear into the humans line and cause them to retreat again. He couldn't suppress a wince as he watched them open fire yet again and send explosions rippling across his army.

As the Murkrow flew overhead the Pokemon dived down like the dive bombers of old. With only one Pokemon that could fly the human could only dive for cover as the birds rained down upon them. The electric Pokemon did their best to shoot down as many of the birds as they could but their numbers were too numerous.

"Feast and let my army draw closer." He said to himself.

One of the Murkrow had made it his job to make Lance as wounded as possible as the dragon trainer stabbed upwards with his spear. The sharpened spike of metal cut into, then through, the flying Pokemon. He brought the weapon around and into another that had been harassing one of the Flaaffy.

Glancing down the field he saw the Pokemon army approaching. Gyarados and Dragonite managed to remain firing at them as the Murkrow couldn't do much to either Pokemon of their size of defense. The others weren't having as much luck. In particular Torterra was getting harassed by at least half the flock and his legs and head were covered in cuts.

"Torterra stop trying to hit them, just use Giga Drain!" Lance shouted.

Torterra nodded and his entire body glowed with a green aura. From all around him the Murkrow fell to the ground. Reaching into his waist Lance pulled out Gyarados' Pokeball again. Shocked at his action Gyarados only had a moment to cry out in surprise before he was summoned. Returning the Pokemon to his sphere he shouted to the Flaaffy next.

"Flaaffy discharge!" He said diving to the ground in the hopes of avoiding much of the attack.

While it helped he still felt the shock flow through his body as the electric attack went off. Stifling a scream he tossed Gyarados' ball again while he did his best to recover from having electricity burning through his body. Attempting to stand he saw his sleeves burning from the electrical burns and the burns on his arm from the electrical attack.

Wincing in pain he saw the army closer than ever, "Torterra, second earthquake!" He said feeling Dragonite lifting him up and floating a few feet in the air.

It was clear in Torterra's actions this was going to be a much bigger shockwave. Before it was a stamp of his feet, now he reared backwards for a second before bringing both feet down upon the ground. The result was a world apart from the first attack. Lance could see the ground shaking underneath Torterra as cracks formed all around them.

A single larger crack shot outwards towards the center of the field and shot into the army of Pokemon. At first he thought it wasn't going to work then he saw the entire back of the field launch upwards while their side sunk down several feet. The two sheets of ground shifted and crashed together sending Pokemon and dirt flying everywhere.

The end result was half the field pointing upwards into the air while the other half settled at an angle downwards into a pitch black crevasse. His own group of Pokemon recovered far more quickly than the army. Approaching the edge the separated section of the Pokemon army could only look up in horror as electric, beams, and energy draining attacks all rained down on them annihilating them where they stood.

Lance felt his stomach turn. He recalled when he went to Mahogany. Then he outright refused to accept the death of a Pokemon and he remembered his insistence on saving their lives. Now he stood by while dozens were murdered under his order. He felt something change inside him as he heard their agonized cries as they died under his Pokemon's attacks.

"Alright, fallback!" Lance shouted to the others as he recalled Gyarados again.

As Dragonite carried him back he took stock of their situation. From what he could tell they had only managed to take out the weakest and most numerous of the Pokemon attacking. The army's number had been cut in half but the remaining half, from what he had seen, was the strongest and most evolved of the group. He knew the Kadabra and Arbok were also part of that group.

Approaching the base Lance got off Dragonite and saw Joy rushing out of the building, "JOY! I told you to stay with the children!" He shouted as she summoned Chansey.

She didn't even bother responding as she took hold of his arms at the shoulder and looked down at the electrical burns running all over them. The next moment his arms were bathed in a soothing light as Chansey used her hardboiled to begin healing the. It was then that Lance noticed she had a machete with her as well.

"Joy… what are you doing with that!" Lance asked.

"I- I'm going to help you fight! Me and Chansey can fight and I won't just cower in fear inside!" She said.

"JOY NO!" Lance shouted, "It's not a matter of if you can fight! You're a doctor, a healer, someone who HELPS Pokemon! You are the last person who should have to kill one!"

"But-" She started.

"JOY NO! I know you want to help but not like this! I won't have you stain your hands with blood like me!" He said, "Please… Don't hurt yourself like this."

He saw Joy's face contort with frustration at his request. Eventually her shoulders slumped and she nodded meekly in agreement. Lance hated to tell her no like this but it wasn't a good idea at all.

"The Flaaffy need some healing, once they're-" His sentence was drowned out by the sound of Pokemon approaching.

Turning he saw the Pokemon army moving faster than even he expected. The horde had managed to circumvent the ruined field faster than he expected. Now he knew there wasn't enough time to catch their breath.

"JOY INSIDE NOW!" He shouted readying his spear and summoning Gyarados.

Just as the giant serpent roared at the prospect of battle several black blurs smashed into it and sent the Pokemon reeling to the ground. The Honchkrow snickered as they flew around it releasing a Haze attack wherever they flew. Before Lance could even shout an order the area was covered in a black smoke blocking his line of sight.

Joy stood by him with Chansey as he attempted to get the situation under control, "Dragonite! We need wind!" He shouted before being taken by a fit of coughing.

The next second a massive gust of wind blew away the clouds of haze. Lance saw the remaining Pokemon army was upon them as two Ursarings lead the charge against Gyarados who was recovering from the sucker punch attacks. The two giant bears leapt forwards and tackled the serpent before he could draw a bead on them. Claws raked and cut into his side as he thrashed about trying to break free of the Ursaring's attack.

Lance couldn't help as several Sandslash rolled directly towards the Flaaffy. They would have been smashed had Chansey not thrown an egg bomb directly into the path of the Pokemon. With a nod from Joy the healer Pokemon waddled off towards the electric Pokemon to assist in their own battle.

Lance hoped at least Dragonite was free to assist but saw he had his own problems as Arbok had chosen him as his target. The scarred snake had wrapped himself around the dragon stopping the Pokemon from using some of his most powerful attacks. A brutal wrestling match followed as Dragonite's strength was negated by Arboks wrapping ability. The snake couldn't get a clear shot with it's venom as Dragonite's one free arm had locked onto the poison Pokemon's head and kept it pointing it away from himself.

Even Torterra had his own issues to deal with. Like before the Honchkrow focused almost entirely on him. Unlike last time he fought them they had more than enough life and sense to avoid any of his attacks as he tried and failed to hit them. This was made worse by the other Pokemon surrounding the battles and sniping hits whenever they main combatants showed an opening.

"Joy get behind me…" Lance said as he saw Kadabra appear further back.

Standing on a nearby rock he sneered as lance readied his third spear and prepared to defend himself. The psychic was flanked by two Ariados. It was clear from their eyes both were being controlled by the psychic as he flicked a hand towards the trainer and the two darted forward.

Stabbing forward Lance attempting to skewer one while it was still charging only to find the spear knocked out of his hand by a psychic shove. Looking up he saw the Kadabra ready another attack only for it to double over in pain. The dragon trainer didn't have time to wonder as one of the bugs leapt at him slamming into him into the ground. The other bypassed him completely and charged Joy who held her machete in front of her with shaking hands.

Before it could attack it's body exploded in gore as something hit it. From above a white blur flew past with a gust of wind before angling it's body towards the murder of Honchkrow attacking Torterra. Behind Togekiss Joy saw Dawson slide off the back and hit the ground running. With his own Machete he ran up to the Ariados and with one smooth motion slice the head off of the Bug.

Pushing the bug off, Lance climbed back up and looked up to see shots rain down from above as Clair and Dragonair strafed the army below them, "About time you got back!" Lance shouted as Dawson gave him a hand.

"Once we saw you guys having a party here we picked up the pace!" Dawson said bringing his metal blade down on an approaching Raticate, "What's the plan?"

"We need to fall back into the building and meet up with the kids!" Lance said pulling out Gyarados and Dragonair's Pokeballs.

"Right, start bailing. Clair and I will hold them off." Dawson said summoning Luxray and his own Gyarados.

The Pokemon army was thrown into confusion in the next moment as everyone they were fighting suddenly vanished in a flash of red light and were replaced with a new set of Pokemon which attacked in earnest. Joy and Lance recalled the other Pokemon and the group began a fighting retreat into the building. Dawson and his Gyarados were the last ones in, recalling his Pokemon before turning and bolting down the hallway.

As he caught up he shouted over to Lance, "Ok we're running, what's that actual plan?" He asked.

"We're bringing this building down around us!" Lance said as the group turned round a corner, "Eric found an underground bunker attached to the computer core room when he got that online. We go in there with the kids and level the building!"

"Ballsy, I like it." Dawson said.

"We're still going to need to draw them in though!" Clair said as they rushed into the computer room.

Eric and Rosemary were standing at the top of the stairs alongside several of the Mareep. As soon as the trainers ran around the corner the two pulled out some of the Pokeballs they got from Mahogany town and recalled the electric sheep. The trainers approached the stairs and Eric and Rosemary nodded to them before heading down the stairs.

"Right, Now we have to draw them in." Lance said summoning Dragonite.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel." Dawson replied releasing Luxray from her ball.

"This isn't some game Dawson!" Clair replied as she moved into position with Dragonair.

Dawson moved to one of the remaining computer panels and took cover behind it, "Hey compared to dealing with that Gengar and Nidoking this is a breeze… By the way is Gardevoir with the kids?" Dawson asked.

The trainer saw both Lance's and Joy's shoulders slump before the dragon trainer looked up at him, "Gardevoirs dead Dawson." He said.

Dawson looked at him for a few seconds then let out a snort, "Pfft yeah right, and Clair says I'm taking this too lightly. Now really where is she?" He said.

"Dawson-" Lance's reply was cut off as a barrage of needles was launched out of one of the hallways towards him.

Diving to the side he moved to the stairwell for cover. Luxray responded to the attack by firing several bolts of lightning down the corridor. The electricity lit up the corridor and the trainers could see the horde of Pokemon approaching. Not waiting for a command Luxray continued to fire down the hallway while Dragonair and Dragonite watched the others for any sign of movement.

Before Lance could stop her Joy ran across the line of fire and ducked behind the computer console next to Dawson, "Joy what are you-" Dawson asked before she cut him off.

"Dawson I'm so sorry. I couldn't sav-" Her next words were drowned out as a large section of wall collapsed near them and the two Ursaring charged into the room.

Dawson had just enough time to tackle Joy to the ground and roll them both under the console before the Pokemon opened fire. Lance saw them fall but couldn't get any closer due to the combined fire of the rest of the Pokemon. As he and Clair ducked down into the stairwell the two dragons returned fire as best they could under the withering hail of fire.

"Lance we have to do it now!" Clair shouted as she recalled Dragonair.

"What about Dawson and Joy?" He shouted back.

"It won't be the first building dropped on Dawson! They'll live, DO IT!" She said.

Lance hesitated for a moment before he saw a gout of acid nearly hit Dragonair's arm. That clinched it for him as he recalled Dragonair and summoned Torterra. The Pokemon knew it's job and didn't even need a command as it reared it's legs into the air and slammed them down again.

Immediately Lance recalled the ground Pokemon as the building rocked and shook around them. The earthquake wasn't the same category as the one in the field but the result was just as devastating as the walls, floor, and ceiling cracked and broke under the tremors. Lance and Clair practically fell down the stairs as the building fell apart around them.

Chunks of ceiling fell down towards the Pokemon arm. Sandslash tried to dig into the cement floor, Raticate scrambled around attempting to find an exit, Nidoran and Nidorino fled in terror, and even the Ursaring fell to the falling debris and steel girders and chunks of wall smashed and broke their bodies underneath their weight.

Kadabra could only teleport out as the building crashed down around him crushing his army and allies.

Dawson tried to suppress a cough as the dust settled around them. His attempts failed as he turned his head to the side lest he cough on the nurse underneath him. He was quite frankly surprised at the fact that he and Joy were still alive after the building came down around them. Looking around the darkened space they lay in he couldn't help but be thankful of sturdy team rocket building materials.

The computer console had somehow managed to stand up to the falling debris and building materials that had so recently come crashing down around them. This meant they had a small pocket of space that allowed them to weather the destruction of the base better than any of the Pokemon army.

"D-Dawson, you're crushing me." Joy said in a slight gasp.

He tried to push himself up and found his back hitting the top of their small little pocket, "Sorry this is the best I can do." He said trying his best to prop himself up.

"Thanks…" She said.

His body was still pinning her down but now that she could breathe she found she didn't mind nearly as much. If it wasn't for the army attack she would have enjoyed being pinned down by him like this. As soon as the thought went through her head she felt a noticeable blush cover her face.

"Are you hurt?" He asked snapping her out of her fantasies.

"No…" She said, "D-Dawson?"

"I'm still too close?" He asked.

"N-no I don't mind that, I- I mean you're not crushing me." She said quickly covering up her first answer, "I just… wanted to apologize for… for letting Gardevoir die."

The darkness around them preventing her from seeing anything more than just a shadow of his face so she couldn't gauge his reaction to her words, "Tell me how she died." He said.

"Ok…" Joy said wishing she could see his face.

"DAMN THEM!" Kadabra said as he teleported to outside the base.

His arrival on the beach was a rally point for many Pokemon that either got out in time or never got a chance to get inside the building. As they gathered around Kadabra he was pushing his psychic powers to the limit to try and sense the humans within the building. If they were dead then it didn't matter if the building was destroyed.

Eventually he felt it, the minds of several humans and Pokemon below the ruins of the base, "They're still alive. Hurry we must make sure their victory is a short lived one." He said directing the remaining Pokemon towards the ruins even as the dust settled.

Before he could organize the remaining Pokemon he heard a loud bang then felt something bite into his shoulder. He felt his body jerk forward as the bullet pierced him and hit the ground at his feet. Looking up he saw something that horrified him.

Several jet black helicopters banked overhead and made a pass over the group of Pokemon. Others were getting hit by bullets just like he was as the helicopters side doors were opened and the humans inside were raining bullets down on the army. The only distinguishable feature he saw on the vehicles was a large red R on the side of each one.

Team Rocket had arrived and they were decimating what was left of his army. Kadabra saw another flash come from one of the Rocket grunts in the side and for a second he felt the bullet hit his chest. In the next instant a Raticate swapped places with him and had it's head blown off by the bullet as Kadabra's Ally switch triggered.

He gasped for breath at his near death encounter and saw the Pokemon around him getting slaughtered and fleeing into the woods, water or anywhere they could get away from the circling helicopters. He remained for only a moment more before he teleported back to his armies staging area. Anyone left in his army that couldn't flee died that day under the withering hail of gunfire.

Soon all that was left was corpses as the helicopters landed outside the base and the Rocket grunts flooded out and secured the area. From the lead copter Tyson stepped out and surveyed the area. Shaking his head at the rubble he released his two Fearow into the air. The two birds slowly gained altitude and began circling the area. As they kept watch he signaled the rest of the grunts.

"Listen up, someone here activated the recall signal after the fact. We're here to find out who. Also we need to get to the data core under the building and retrieve the data we had to leave behind last time we were here. We got a few hours still until dark and I want to be flying back home by then so hoof it!" He said as the grunts saluted and headed off to start clearing away the rubble, "Talk about unpleasant memories."

"Come now, the work we did here was quite useful to our overall goals, The only unpleasant memories was of Lance and those children he was with." Professor Sebastian said as he stepped out of the helicopter behind Tyson, "And it appears we get the last laugh in the end anyways."

"Still don't like thinking about that guy." Tyson gumbled.

"You don't like thinking about your loss to him. It hardly matters these days anyways, even if he's still alive." Sebastian said, "Come let us oversee the excavation of the computer bunker."


	34. Chapter 34

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.

August 30th

Ruins of the Rocket base.

"Sir we got it clear enough now!" One of the grunts said to Tyson as a section of rubble was pushed aside with the help of a Golem.

"Bout time, lets get the data and get out of here." Tyson said heading down the stairs with Golem in tow.

It had been a few hours since they had arrived and drove off the small army of Pokemon. At first Tyson thought there were humans here as well but as of yet he hadn't seen a single soul. The grunts had been running over the base and they did confirm the presence of humans but no sign of anyone alive. He was beginning to think they had been driven off by the Pokemon before they arrived.

Reaching the last step he had another bring down a light and let the flashlight illuminate his way. It wasn't a far hallway but the destruction of the base had caused cracks and rocks to block the path making the short tip somewhat difficult. Stepping over the last rock he shined the light on the large solid steel door in front of him.

It was one of the few things left in the ruins that hadn't been damaged from the destruction. Since the room housed their sensitive data it was built to last. Tyson knew of bank vaults with less protection than this small room.

"Alright Golem you're up." Tyson said letting the rock Pokemon step forward and grip the handle on the door.

As the metal creaked it slowly slid open and Tyson got a good look inside for the first time. To say he was surprised was an understatement. Inside was not only a half dozen children but several adults as well. A dragonite stood in front and barred his way both in its refusal to move for him and it's inability to move at all due to the cramped confines of the computer room.

"What the hell are you people doing here?" He asked.

"You're human?" Someone inside replied.

"Of course I am, now answer my question." Tyson shot back.

"Oh sorry," The voice apologized before recalling Dragonite.

It was then that Tyson got a good look at who was inside, "WHAT!? YOU!" He shouted upon seeing Lance.

"I could say the same about you!" Lance replied reading Dragonite once more.

Before either of them could do anything Sebastian stepped between them and looked into the room, "Good it appears that the servers suffered little damage over the years… and who are you people? Tyson get them outside so I can begin my work." He said stepping out of the way and pointing back up the stairs.

"I'm not going anywhere until-" Lance's protests were cut off by Clair as she stepped past.

"Lance we don't have time to worry about who saved us, we need to find out if Joy and Dawson are still alive." She said.

The others inside the room apparently agreed with her as they slowly moved past and followed Clair out of the basement, "So why are you here?" Lance asked when it was just the two team Rocket members and himself.

"I don't know why you'd expect us to tell you." Tyson said.

"It is because we need that information on forced evolutions that you so diligently tried to destroy back when we last met." Sebastian said entering in the room and pulling out a small hand held computer device.

"And why would I let you use that vile data?" Lance said reaching for his Pokeball, "I had a duty before and I don't see why I wouldn't uphold it now."

While Tyson looked ready to fight Sebastian just gave the dragon trainer a patronizing look, "Do you really not know the state of the world right now? Such short sighted ethics have no place in this new world we are in. Friend and foe, ethical and unethical, right and wrong have all changed with the times."

"I actually find it rather amusing that team rocket is the one who came to rescue you." Tyson added, "I'm betting you thought it was going to be the Pokemon rangers or police didn't you?"

"It would have been a far better alternative." Lance shot back.

"Well I got news for you, they've just about had it in this world." Tyson said with clear pleasure at delivering the news, "The last man standing rules and right now that's us, Team Rocket! But you know what I'm generous, you get down on your hands and knees and tell me that Team Rocket has been right all along and I'll bring you and your friends back with us."

"If you think…" Lance began.

His statement of defiance was cut off when Clair's voice came down the stairs, "What's the holdup down there? Lance we need to find the others before darkness rolls around. Big guy, you too we need all the help up here we can get!" She shouted down to them.

"Looks like your friend Clair has already assumed we're helping you." Tyson said, "Better get down on your knees soon."

"Tyson stop bothering me and go up and help those people. The sooner they get what they're looking for the less time will be wasted once I finish." Sebastian said.

"You can't expect me to work with HIM of all people!" Tyson protested.

"Everything I said to him applies to you as well. Team rocket maybe king of the hill right now but we can not be picky about our allies if we expect to stay there. Now go help them and give me some peace and quiet." Sebastian said shooing the two away while he went back to work.

* * *

><p>Kadabra silently fumed while the remnants of his army gathered behind him. It was a larger gathering than he had expected as he gave no plan for what to do should they fail. A single Honchkrow, a pair of Sandslash, one Rattata, and a half dozen of the Nidorino and Nidorina. In front of them all waited Arbok.<p>

He wasn't sure where to go from this point. All his plans hinged on winning with barely any effort involved. The idea that not only did his plan fail but it failed so completely that he lost the army he planned to present to lord Ho-oh. Going to him now would earn him little as any of his subordinates could kill a few measly humans.

His shoulder throbbed with pain drawing him out of his reverie. The bullet wound pained him and with no Clefairy he had to wait for it to heal naturally. He was at least able to staunch the bleeding with his mental powers holding the blood back. The throbbing pain was a side effect of that and one that saved his life in the next second.

A flash of light and Kadabra teleported a few feet away as the ground he was standing on was smeared with burning acid. Turning around in fury he face Arbok as the Pokemon raised himself up to full height. The other Pokemon backed away from the combat as they all knew both outclassed them on several levels.

"Snake! What is this treachery?" Kadabra said bringing up his spoon in defense.

"I'm jussst taking care of sssome lossse ends." Arbok said with an evil smile.

"Fool, you forget your place!" Kadabra said focusing his power to crush the impudent poison Pokemon.

As his psychic powers surged a blinding spike of pain shot through his mind and Kadabra cried out. Falling to one knee he clutched his head and tried to ward away the pain before Arbok attacked again. He managed to divert his power into another teleport and he moved away as poison needles shot through the air where he just had been.

Arbok continued to smile and lazily slid towards the psychic, "Sssuch a ssshame. It looksss like you're having sssome trouble getting your powersss up. Don't worry it happensss to many Pokemon." He said with a sneer mocking Kadabra as he circled him.

"Scum! What have you done to me?" He asked.

"Me? I have done nothing… That pretty psssychic, now I wonder what ssshe did to you." Arbok said as his lazy circling drew closer.

Kadabra paused for a moment then the realization of what happened hit him like a ton of bricks, "She's in my mind! She's here hurting me! Cutting into my brain and stopping me from hurting others! She's-" His sentence never finished.

Arbok, in a blur of speed, darted forward and effortlessly wrapped himself around the psychic. In a single blinding motion his fangs sunk into Kadabra's head and fangs pierced into the Pokemon's flesh. With a mighty pull he ripped his head clear off his body and tossed it away. Sliding away from Kadabra's body he spit out the last of the blood and looked to the assembled Pokemon before him.

"You all belong to me now." He said glaring down at them, "We're leaving, Ho-oh can have hisss little war. I have no interessst in it."

The rest of the Pokemon looked at each other for a moment before nodding in unison.

* * *

><p>Rocket base ruins.<p>

Clair felt pain in her shoulder as she worked with a couple of Rocket grunts to lift up a large section of wall. The hope was that they'd see Dawson and Joy under the rubble. The result was less than thrilling.

"Nope just an Ursaring." One of them said.

The group slowly let the wall fall back into place before brushing off the dust from their uniforms. One one hand it was a disappointment it wasn't the two. On the other hand it was a relief that the trail of blood draining out of the rocks wasn't theirs. It was still starting to worry Clair that they hadn't found them yet.

"Were they there?" Lance asked from the other side of what used to be the main room.

"No, just some more Pokemon." Clair shouted back doing her best to keep her voice from showing her disappointment.

As the rocket scientist was still working on the computer they still had time to find the groups wayward members. As the grunts went off to another piece of rubble Eric was trying to move Clair sat down on a nearby girder. They had been working for several hours now and still no sign of either one. She couldn't help but wonder if they did die in the building collapse.

It was then her attention was drawn to a small flickering light near one of the larger piles of debris. A small ball of flame danced over the rubble. It bounced up and down several times trying to get her attention. Once it had it the flame warped into a small arrow pointing down at the rubble pile. The dragon trainer blinked several times just to make sure she wasn't seeing things but when the arrow remained she decided to listen to her gut and move over to the area.

As soon as she approached the arrow disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hoping she wasn't going insane Clair started to move sections of wall and ceiling away from the pile. The grunts had moved to a different area and were busy elsewhere leaving Clair to handle most of the work herself.

Lifting up another piece of rock she suddenly heard voices from below, "Dawson it's light!" Clair heard from a voice she recognized as Joy's.

Hearing the two talk below her she kneeled down as best she could and called out into the rubble, "HEY CAN YOU TWO HEAR ME?" She shouted.

"Clair is that you?" Dawson shouted back.

"You two OK down there?" Clair replied as Lance and some of the Rocket grunts moved to her area, "Hang on a minute we'll get you out of there!"

WIth a little work the rubble was cleared away bit by bit. Two of the Rocket grunts shoved aside one of the last pieces and sent it crashing down towards the ground. Unfortunately they were less than careful with their pushing and it nearly hit several other people including Lance.

"Hey watch it! You nearly crushed us with that!" He shouted as an argument brewed.

Clair ignored the group as they bickered and crouched down to the hole that had formed, "Oh… do you two need a few minutes still?" She asked with a smile as she looked at Dawson and Joy pinned together under the computer console.

"No… Get us out of here…" Dawson said with a humorless tone.

A few minutes later and both were dusting themselves off outside. Dawson was the first and headed off towards the nearby forest much to Clair's confusion. She glanced at Joy who was watching him with a sad expression.

"Did I miss something?" She asked.

"I told him about how Gardevoir died." The nurse said, "Or at least the result of it. She… died before she even got back to the base. While we were under the rubble I told Dawson where they buried her."

"He's going to see her grave?" She asked.

"We put it next to May's… we thought it would be nice." Joy replied.

"Ahh… Did you tell him about May?" She said.

"No… I… it was hard enough just telling him about Gardevoir. Did Lance tell you about her?" Joy said.

"Yeah we had some time to talk before Rocket managed to dig us out." Clair said, "I'm sorry we weren't there."

"It's OK, none of us saw it coming." Joy said.

"You should go to him." Clair replied.

The dragon trainer smiled as she felt a blush creep into Joy's cheek, "I… I don't think I should. I… I'm too glad he's back. I don't think I could empathize with him over his loss when feeling this way towards him." She said bringing her hands up to her chest, "I want to… I want to be with him but I'm afraid I might…"

"Go to him." She insisted, "He could use some of those feelings."

Clair watched as Joy looked at her again for a moment before she resolved herself and went after Dawson. After Joy left, Clair glanced about for anyone else around her. Lance was over arguing with Tyson and the Rocket grunts had begun to spread out over the facility to stand watch or search for other important materials.

As alone as she could be she sat down on an outcropping of wall and spoke, "How long were you planning on shadowing us?" She said to the air around her.

From behind her in the shadows of the ruins she sat, Haunter's eyes peered out at her. While Clair couldn't see his hand gestures she distinctly heard someone say "a while" from behind her. Rolling her eyes at the ghost's brazen disregard for their threats she wondered what to do now.

"Are you just paying us back for dealing with Gengar? Or is this that you want to help humans again?" She asked with no response forthcoming from the rubble behind her, "Tell you what, You helped me find my friends and it seems like you might actually want to repent. So here's the deal, I leave this here and you chose if you want to come with us. I'll be back before we leave."

With that she stood up, placed a Pokeball on the ruins, and walked away.

* * *

><p>The pack of Mightyena moved through the woods with practiced ease. They had been running nonstop since they rescued their wayward pup. The Alpha wanted to be as far away from the base as possible before the fighting even began and now that they had spent most of the day moving he felt it was a good time for a rest.<p>

"Pack… hold." He said slowing down and taking in several deep breaths of air through his nose.

Smelling no Pokemon out of the ordinary he let his pack catch up and take up resting positions on the forest floor. The last two to catch up were the parents. One still had the pup on her back and Clefairy was still on the father's. As soon as the two stopped the pink Pokemon gently let itself down and sat carefully on the forest floor.

"If you spend all your time keeping up appearances you're never going to get any rest." He said as his mate and pup came to sit down with her.

"I don't want to be any bother." Clefairy said.

"I know you've been saying it since we left." The father said.

"Dear be nice." The mother chided while the pup only wagged his tail back and forth in joy over seeing his parents again.

"If you don't mind me asking… why did they throw you out?" The father asked.

Clefairy saw the daggers his mate shot at him but chose to answer anyways, "Because I couldn't kill one of the children. Fighting against the humans and their Pokemon… I could justify that as they always attacked me for being a rare Pokemon. But the children? I couldn't do it. Now my people are gone and I'm probably the last Clefairy on the planet because I despised the humans so. Really it's a fitting punishment having no one now." She said.

"Well if you keep that attitude with our pup you can stay with us." The father said.

Clefairy saw the mother nod in agreement, "Thank you… I don't deserve it… but thank you." She said.

"Hey we can't get the old world back unless we go back to being nice to others." The father said, "I don't want my pup to grow up in a world where everyone hates everyone else."

* * *

><p>With great gusts of wind the helicopters lifted off from the Rocket base. Sebastian finished his work just about the same time Dawson and Joy returned from the woods. With all the work done everyone was assigned to a vehicle before they left. As the children, Joy, Lance, Clair, Dawson, Rosemary, and Eric all looked down at the ruined base they all wondered where they'd end up next.<p>

There was friction where they were going. Both Lance and Tyson's animosity made the spats the dragon trainer had with Dawson look like playful ribbing. Team Rocket wasn't a nursery either and the children were going to be given jobs suitable to themselves. The adults were going to have to suck up working for an organization they had viewed as terrorists. No one on the helicopter had any illusions about how easy it would be.

Clair couldn't help but smile, however, at the sight before her. As they flew over the landscape she watched as Dawson and Joy slept in front of her. Both leaned on each other and she felt a little envious of both of them as their hands intertwined gently in Joy's lap.


	35. Epilogue

One year later…

Lance let out a massive sigh as he looked over the reports from the combat zones. The office he sat in was peaceful enough but was still referred to as the front lines due to it taking less than a minute or two to return to Groudon's wall by dragon back. For him this base was simply a respite from the never ending watch of the wall. In it's own way, however, it was it's own battlefield as he constantly worked to keep the supply lines on time and restocking the necessary areas.

He put the current report down and leaned back in his chair. The seat creeked backwards and Lance was able to examine the ceiling with great detail as he slacked off for a moment. A single fan rotated overhead doing little to cool the room as the summer sun bore down on the room. The light from the outside streaked in from two windows behind him and illuminated the room. Fake wood walls and crappy carpet matched the plastic desk assigned to his office.

As he stared up at the ceiling a sound caught his ear from outside. Like the roar of an Ursaring the Pelipper drop ship could be heard throughout the base as it landed in the airfield outside. One of the reasons he chose this base for his paperwork center was not only it's position near the front but the fact that it was a hub center for much of the logistics of the area north of the wall. Many other commanders and trainers would chose places farther away from the combat. Lance could never justify to himself doing that when there were people he could save by being there.

His reverie was broken in an unceremonious manner when the door to his office opened suddenly. He had managed to just avoid falling backwards onto the floor from his leaning position as Dawson walked in. Unfortunately that meant he shifted his weight forwards and his chair came down onto the floor with a thud that the trainer clearly caught. Not bothering to hide his smirk Dawson walked into the room carrying several papers and pulled up a chair opposite the dragon trainer.

"I don't suppose you ever heard of knocking?" Lance asked bitterly.

"Not when I can catch you slacking off on your job." Dawson replied cheerfully.

Lance realized any irritation directed towards him would just be ignored so he pressed on, "Why are you here? Don't you have work to be doing?" He asked hoping to get the trainer to leave sooner rather than later.

"But my good pal Lance I thought you would want to spend some time reminiscing about our adventures at the rocket base." Dawson said with mock indignation.

"Not with you. Now why are you here?" He asked.

"Oh so friendly," Dawson quipped, "I'm here to deliver mail."

"Mail?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, hand to Arceus. I was heading to sector thirty four to shore up their artillery and I got a request for a delivery. By the way how are the half pints doing?" Dawson said.

"The kids? They're fine, working with the cleanup crew in Agricola. They suspect they'll have the area ready for farming by next year." Lance said, "Well all of them save for Steven."

"He still working missions? Man that kids going to end up with more issues than a comic collector after this war... More importantly one of the letters is going to one of them." Dawson said tossing a folded piece of paper towards Lance.

The dragon trainer caught it mid air and began to read it, "You can't be serious." He said after a few moments.

"Me? Nah I can't really pull of the serious tone or look. Anabel is the one pushing for that, she's setting up… or was it set up already… Eh, either way she wants Lisa for her psychic school. Since you're the regional commander for this area it's up to you to deliver the message to her. That and I'm not likely to see them within the next few months." Dawson said.

"She has to be joking." Lance said in disbelief.

"No no no you got it all wrong, I'm the joker, she's the serious one." Dawson interjected.

"I'm not going to send a young girl to a mental school so she can be used to kill Pokemon!" Lance said.

"She won't be the first and she certainly won't be the last." Dawson said as his smile faded slightly, "And I'd take care with rejecting Anabel. She's being polite now, but we all know she has enough authority to simply override your wishes." Dawson paused for a moment before sighing, "Listen Lance I know you don't want to put her in some kind of mental prison camp but I've met Anabel. The last thing she wants is to make these kids into weapons. Besides if her powers flare up when she's with others she might end up hurting one of them."

Lance looked down at one of the reports he had looked over before and ran a hand through his hair, "It's not might… she almost killed one of the cleanup crew when she got spooked by one of them. I'm guessing that's what tipped off Anabel about her powers." He said, "I know you're right I just don't like it."

"No one said you had to." Dawson replied standing up, "Take some time to think about it, I myself am going to raid this bases cafeteria! If I'm lucky you guys will have better coffee than sector twelve."

"Dawson… are you going to go see her?" Lance asked as the trainer headed for the door.

He froze as soon as Lance said 'her', "She's… she's here?" He said nervously.

The dragon trainer rarely got to rattle Dawson so he was going to enjoy this, "Yes… and she's still very mad at you." Lance said with a smile.

"Crap…" Dawson said.

"You have no one to blame but yourself you know. If you don't mind me asking why did you get Joy pregnant? You don't seem the type to be that careless." Lance asked.

"It was a convenient accident." Dawson said his shoulders slumping.

"If I didn't know any better I'd have assumed you planned it. Everyone knows how much you wanted her away from the front. Getting pregnant is a guaranteed leave of absence to a secure area." Lance said.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that, but I'd also be lying if I said I planned it that way. It was a happy accident." Dawson said.

"Well for one of you at least." Lance replied.

"Well for both of us. She always wanted a child… I think she just wanted to be with me more. I sure as hell didn't expect her to be such a spitfire." Dawson said bracing himself for the inevitable chewing out he was going to receive.

Lance watched him go with a chuckle. He knew he'd get the lowdown on the argument from the grapevine. Now he had work to do as he picked up another report with the familiar seal of Clair's unit operating behind enemy lines. As long as the reports kept coming in he knew they were still alive.

The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson. This is not going to be my only foray into the Poke wars universe. Coming soon, Poke wars Amidst chaos.


End file.
